Glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to novel derivatives of glycyrrhetinic acid, compositions comprising said derivatives and their use in the treatment of conditions or diseases that benefits from an upregulation of PPARγ and/or a downregulation of the expression or activity of one or more specificity (Sp) proteins, such as cancer, diabetes and Huntington&#39;s disease.

PRIORITY

The present application is a Divisional application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/308,798, filed Nov. 2, 2009, which is a UnitedStates National Stage Application of International Application No.PCT/CA2007/001127, filed Jun. 27, 2007, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/816,590, filed Jun. 27, 2006, allof which applications are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to novel glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives,pharmaceutical compositions comprising said derivatives and their use astherapeutics, in particular as a new class of anticancer drugs that actthrough multiple pathways.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Licorice root extracts have been extensively used for their therapeuticproperties which include the potentiation of cortisol action, inhibitionof testosterone biosynthesis, reduction in body fat mass and otherendocrine effects (1-4). The activities of these extracts are linked todifferent classes of phytochemicals particularly the major water solubleconstituent glycyrrhizin and its hydrolysis product 18/β-glycyrrhetinicacid (GA):

Glycyrrhizin is a pentacyclic triterpenoid glycoside which is hydrolyzedin the gut to GA and many of the properties of licorice root can beattributed to GA. For example, GA inhibits 11β-hydroxysteroiddehydrogenase activity increasing corticosterone levels and this hasbeen linked to apoptosis in murine thymocytes, splenocytes and decreasedbody fat index in human studies (5-9). GA also directly acts onmitochondria to induce apoptosis through increased mitochondrialswelling, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and release ofcytochrome C (10, 11).

GA has also been used as a template to synthesize bioactive drugs. Forexample carbenoxolone is the 3-hemisuccinate derivative of GA and thiscompound has been used for the treatment of gastritis and ulcers (12).Some of the activity of carbenoxolone may be due to hydrolysis to GAhowever carbenoxolone itself induced oxidative stress in livermitochondria and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential. Othercarboxyl and hydroxyl derivatives of glycyrrhetinic acid inhibit HIV andexhibit anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities (13). Inaddition, GA derivatives containing a reduced carboxylic acid group(CH₂OH) at C-30 and some additional functional changes exhibited strongantioxidant activity (14).

GA is an oleanane derivative and there have been extensivestructure-activity studies on the anti-inflammatory activities ofoleanolic and ursolic acids derivatives (15-19). Two examples that havebeen prepared and studied are 2-cyano-3,12-dioxo-oleana-1,9(11)-diene-28-oic acid (CDDO) and its methyl ester (CDDO-Me) whichcontain major structural differences in the E-ring compared to GA:

Subsequent studies have demonstrated that CDDO activates peroxisomeproliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) (20-22).

PPAR is a member of the nuclear receptor (NR) family of transcriptionfactors (23-27), and the three members of this subfamily serve asregulators of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and play a critical rolein multiple diseases including diabetes, atherosclerosis and cancer.Ligand activation of PPARγ results in formation of a DNA-boundheterodimer with the retinoic acid X receptor (RXR) and afterrecruitment of the appropriate nuclear factors, transcriptionalactivation of target gene expression is observed. The assembly of atranscriptionally-active PPAR/RXR complexes may be highly variable anddependent on expression of coregulatory proteins, and this may dictate,in part, the tissue-specific and ligand structure-dependent activationof PPAR-mediated gene expression and responses.

PPARγ agonists have been developed for treatment of metabolic diseases,and thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are PPARγ agonists and are used bymillions of patients in the United States for treatment ofinsulin-resistant Type II diabetes. PPARγ is overexpressed in multipletumor-types (28), and there is evidence that various structural classesof PPARγ agonists inhibit growth and induce apoptosis in both pancreaticand colon cancer cells and tumors (29-50). However, it is clear fromstudies with PPARγ agonists that their effects in colon, pancreatic andother cancer cell lines and tumors are highly variable and can bemediated through receptor-dependent and -independent pathways.Nevertheless, this characteristic of multiple mechanisms can beadvantageous for cancer chemotherapy by targeting several pathways thatinhibit tumor growth and metastasis.

Specificity protein 1 (Sp1) was the first transcription factoridentified (51), and the Sp/Krüppel-like factor (KLF) family of zincfinger transcription factors exhibit a broad range of tissue-specificand overlapping functions (52-56). Sp1 and Sp3 proteins are ubiquitouslyexpressed and have been extensively investigated. For example, Sp1^(−/−)embryos exhibit multiple abnormalities, retarded development andembryolethality on day 11 of gestation (57). Sp3^(−/−) mice also exhibitgrowth retardation, defects in late tooth development, and the animalsdie at birth (58, 59). The critical requirement for Sp proteins duringembryonic and postnatal development is in contrast to decreasedexpression in mature tissue/organs which are relatively quiescent. Incontrast, there is increasing evidence that Sp1 (the major focus of moststudies) and other Sp proteins such as Sp3 and Sp4 are overexpressed intumors compared to most other tissues/organs (60-65). For example, arecent study compared the expression of Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 in prostate andpancreatic tumors in xenograft or orthotopic mouse models, and resultsillustrated the high expression in LNCaP prostate tumor xenografts vs.normal mouse liver from the same animals (66, 67). Levels of Sp1, Sp3and Sp4 expression were barely detectable in liver and other tissuescompared to high levels of Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 in tumors, and severalstudies report that Sp proteins are overexpressed in multiple tumors(60-65). Lou and coworkers (68) reported that transformation offibroblasts resulted in an 8- to 18-fold increase in Sp1 expression, andthese transformed cells formed highly malignant tumors in athymic nudemouse xenograft models, whereas untransformed fibroblasts expressing lowlevels of Sp1 did not form tumors. In addition, ribozyme-dependentknockdown of Sp1 in the transformed cells decreased VEGF expression andincreased apoptosis. Recent studies in this laboratory using RNAinterference and other techniques have demonstrated that knockdown ofSp1, Sp3, Sp4 and their combinations decreases cell cycle progression,increases p27 expression, decreases levels of the antiapoptotic proteinsurvivin, and downregulates expression of VEGF, VEGF receptor 1 (VEGFR1)and VEGFR2 (KDR) (66, 67, 69-72).

Since Sp proteins are overexpressed in tumors/cancer cells and play animportant role in regulating expression of growth, angiogenic andsurvival genes, agents that target Sp protein degradation will be highlyeffective anticancer drugs. For example, the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxibdecreased the expression of Sp1 and VEGF by inducing degradation of Sp1in pancreatic cancer cells (73), and studies showed that COX-2inhibitors decrease VEGF expression in colon cancer cells by decreasingthe level of Sp1 and Sp3 (69). Further, a series of nonsteroidalanti-inflammatory drugs were screened for activity in decreasing Spprotein expression in pancreatic cancer cells (66). The results showedthat only tolfenamic acid and structurally related analogs decreasedSp1, Sp3 and Sp4 expression in Panc1 and L3.6p1 pancreatic cancer cellsthrough activation of the proteasome pathway, and this was accompaniedby decreased VEGF and VEGFR1 expression, increased apoptosis, anddecreased cell growth. Moreover, in an orthotopic model for pancreaticcancer, tolfenamic acid decreased Sp protein expression in tumors,decreased tumor growth, decreased angiogenesis (and VEGF), and inhibitedliver metastasis. Similar results were also observed using thetriterpenoid natural product betulinic acid using LNCaP prostate cancercells and tumors in a xenograft model (67). These results demonstratethat drugs that target Sp proteins constitute a highly effective andimportant class of mechanism-based anticancer drugs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Certain novel derivatives of glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) have been preparedand shown to inhibit colon, pancreatic and prostate cancer cell growthand to induce peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ)transactivation as well as to induce specificity (Sp) proteindegradation. The present invention therefore includes a novel class ofnew mechanism-based anticancer drugs that act as PPARγ agonists and bydecreasing expression of Sp proteins in various tumor cells.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention includes a compoundselected from a compound of formula (I):

whereinR¹ is selected from CN, halo, NO₂, CO₂R³, C₁₋₆alkyl, fluoro-substitutedC₁₋₆alkyl, C₂₋₆alkenyl, C₂₋₆alkynyl, OR³, SR³, SOR³, SO₂R³, NR³R⁴,C(O)NR³R⁴, C(O)R³, OC(O)R³, NHC(O)R³, P(O)R³R⁴, —C≡C—R³, —CR³═CR⁴R⁵,aryl and heteroaryl;R² is selected from OC₁₋₆alkyl, fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₆alkyl, NH₂,NHC₁₋₆alkyl, N(C₁₋₆alkyl)(C₁₋₆alkyl), SH and SC₁₋₆alkyl;R³, R⁴ and R⁵ are independently selected from H, C₁₋₆alkyl,fluoro-substituted C₁₋₆alkyl, aryl and heteroaryl; andone of X and Y is C═O while the other is CH₂, and if X is C═O then

adjacent to X represents a single bond and

adjacent to Y represents a double bond and if Y is C═O then

adjacent to Y represents a single bond and

adjacent to X represents a double bond;and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, solvates and prodrugs thereof.

The present invention also includes a pharmaceutical compositioncomprising a compound of the invention and a pharmaceutically acceptablecarrier.

The present invention also includes a use of a compound of the inventionas a medicament or as a diagnositic.

A further aspect of the present invention is a use of a compound of theinvention to treat a condition or disease that benefits from anupregulation of PPARγ and/or a downregulation of the expression oractivity of one or more specificity (Sp) proteins. In particularembodiments the condition or disease that benefits from an upregulationof PPARγ and/or a downregulation of the expression or activity of one ormore specificity Sp proteins is cancer. Accordingly, also includedwithin the scope of the present invention is a method of treating cancercomprising administering an effective amount of a compound of theinvention to a subject in need thereof. Further the invention includes ause of a compound of the invention to treat cancer, as well as a use ofa compound of the invention to prepare a medicament to treat cancer.

The present invention also includes a method of treating diabetes,comprising administering an effective amount of PPARγ-upregulatingeffective amount of a compound of the invention to a subject in needthereof. The invention also includes a use of a PPARγ-upregulatingcompound of the invention to treat diabetes as well as a use of aPPARγ-upregulating compound of the invention to prepare a medicament totreat diabetes.

A further aspect of the present invention is a method of treatingHuntington's disease comprising administering an Spprotein-downregulating effective amount of a compound of the inventionto a subject in need thereof. Also included in the present invention isa use of an Sp protein-downregulating compound of the invention to treatHuntington's disease as well as a use of an Sp protein-downregulatingcompound of the invention to prepare a medicament to treat Huntington'sdisease.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and the specificexamples while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in relation to the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows ligand-dependent activation of PPARγ-GAL4/pGAL4 in SW480cells. Cells were transfected with PPARγ-GAL4/pGAL4, treated withdifferent concentrations of the triterpenoids, and luciferase activitywas determined as described in the Examples. Results of alltransactivation studies in this Figure are presented as means±SE for atleast 3 separate determinations for each treatment group and significant(p<0.05) induction compared to solvent (DMSO) control is indicated by anasterisk.

FIG. 2 shows ligand-dependent activation of PPARγ-GAL4/pGAL4 in HT-29cells. Cells were transfected with PPARγ-GAL4/pGAL4, treated withdifferent concentrations of the triterpenoids, and luciferase activitywas determined as described in the Examples. Results of alltransactivation studies in this Figure are presented as means±SE for atleast 3 separate determinations for each treatment group and significant(p<0.05) induction compared to solvent (DMSO) control is indicated by anasterisk.

FIG. 3 shows inhibition of transactivation in SW480 cells transfectedwith PPARγ-GAL4/pGAL4 by PPARγ antagonists. Cells were transfected withPPARγ-GAL4/pGAL4, treated with different concentrations of CDODA orCDODA-Me alone or in combination with 10 μM T007, and luciferaseactivities were determined as described in FIG. 1. Significant (p<0.05)inhibition of induced transactivation by T007 is indicated (**).

FIG. 4 shows inhibition of transactivation in SW480 cells transfectedwith PPRE₃-Luc by PPARγ antagonists. Cells were transfected withPPRE₃-Luc, treated with different concentrations of CDODA-Me alone or incombination with 10 μM GW9662 and/or T007, and luciferase activitieswere determined as described in FIG. 1. Significant (p<0.05) inhibitionof induced transactivation by T007 or GW9662 is indicated (**).

FIG. 5 shows ligand-induced PPARγ-coactivator interactions. SW480 cellswere transfected with VP-PPARγ, coactivator-GAL4/pGAL4, treated withdifferent concentrations of CDODA-Me, and luciferase activity wasdetermined as described in the Examples. Results are expressed asmeans±SE for 3 replicate determinations for each treatment group, andsignificant (p<0.05) induction is indicated by an asterisk.

FIG. 6 shows the effects of CDODA-Me on cell cycle proteins, apoptosisand tumor suppressor genes. SW480 cells were treated with differentconcentrations of CDODA-Me for 24 hr and various proteins were analyzedby western immunoblot analysis as described in the Examples. β-actinserved as a loading control and results were observed in replicate (2 ormore) experiments.

FIG. 7 shows the effects of CDODA-Me and CDODA on cell cycle proteins,apoptosis and tumor suppressor genes. SW480 cells were treated withdifferent concentrations of CDODA-Me or CDODA for 24 and variousproteins were analyzed by western immunoblot analysis as described inthe Examples. β-actin served as a loading control and results wereobserved in replicate (2 or more) experiments.

FIG. 8 compares the effects of CDODA-Me and CDDO-Me on cell cycleproteins, apoptosis and tumor suppressor genes. SW480 cells were treatedwith different concentrations of CDODA-Me or CDDO-Me for 96 hr andvarious proteins were analyzed by western immunoblot analysis asdescribed in the Examples. β-actin served as a loading control andresults were observed in replicate (2 or more) experiments.

FIG. 9 shows the effects of CDODA-Me on cell cycle proteins, apoptosisand tumor suppressor genes. Treatment of HT-29 cells for 24 hr. Cellswere treated and analyzed as described above (FIGS. 6-8) for PARP (112kDa), PARP (85 kDa), NAG-1 and KLF-4. β-actin served as a loadingcontrol and results in were observed in replicate (2 or more)experiments.

FIG. 10 shows the effects of PPARγ antagonists on CDODA-Me inducedeffects on protein expression or apoptosis. SW480 cells were treated for24 hr with different concentrations of CDODA-Me alone or in combinationwith 10 μM T007 and PARP (112 kDa), PARP (85 kDa), CD-1, p27, NAG-1 andKLF-4 proteins were analyzed by western immunoblots as described in theExamples. β-actin served as a loading control and results were observedin replicate (2 or more) experiments.

FIG. 11 shows the effects of PPARγ antagonists on CDODA-Me inducedeffects on protein expression or apoptosis. HT-29 cells were treated for24 hr with different concentrations of CDODA-Me alone or in combinationwith 10 μM T007 and KLF-4 protein was analyzed by western immunoblots asdescribed in the Examples. β-actin served as a loading control andresults were observed in replicate (2 or more) experiments.

FIG. 12 shows the effects of PPARγ antagonists on CDODA-Me inducedeffects on protein expression or apoptosis. HT-29 cells were treat for24 hr with different concentrations of CDODA-Me alone or in combinationwith 10 μM GW9662 and PARP (112 kDa), PARP (85 kDa) and NAG-1 proteinswere analyzed by western immunoblots as described in the Examples.β-actin served as a loading control and results were observed inreplicate (2 or more) experiments.

FIG. 13 shows the effects of PPARγ antagonists on CDODA-Me inducedeffects on protein expression or apoptosis. HT-29 cells were treated for96 hr with different concentrations of CDODA-Me alone or in combinationwith 10 μM T007 and Cav-1 protein was analyzed by western immunoblots asdescribed in the Examples. β-actin served as a loading control andresults were observed in replicate (2 or more) experiments.

FIG. 14 shows the inhibition of colon (SW480, top) and pancreatic(Panc28, bottom) cancer cells by α- and β-CDODA-Me compounds.

FIG. 15 includes gels showing that β-CDODA-Me induces Sp proteindegradation in Panc28 cells. This response is not reversed by T007 (A)and only a minimal amount of reversal is observed with lactacystin (B).

FIG. 16 includes gels showing the effects of β-CDODA-Me cell cycleproteins (A) and NAG-1/ATF-3 and PARP cleavage (B) in Panc28 cells.

FIG. 17 includes a gel showing that β-CDODA-Me decreases Sp proteinprotein expression in RKO cells. These effects are not reversed by T007or proteasome inhibitors.

FIG. 18 shows the effects of β-CDODA-Me and related compounds on LNCaPcell survival, activation of PPARγ, and modulation of cell cycle genes.(A) Cell survival. LNCaP cells were treated with differentconcentrations of β-DODA, β-DODA-Me or β-CDODA-Me for 96 hr, and the %cell survival relative to DMSO (solvent control set at 100%) wasdetermined as described in the Examples. Results are expressed asmeans±SE for three separate determinations for each treatment group, andsignificantly (p<0.05) decreased survival is indicated (*). (B)β-CDODA-Me activates PPARγ. LNCaP cells were treated with β-CDODA, T007or their combination, transfected with PPARγ-GAL4/pGAL4 or PPRE-luc, andluciferase activity determined as described in the Examples. Results areexpressed as means±SE for three replicate determinations for eachtreatment group, and significant (p<0.05) induction by β-CDODA-Me (*)and inhibition after cotreatment with T007 (**) are indicated.Modulation of cell cycle genes by β-CDODA-Me alone (C) and incombination with T007 (D). Cells were treated as indicated for 24 hr,and whole cell lysates were analyzed by Western blot analysis asdescribed in the Examples.

FIG. 19 shows that β-CDODA induces apoptotic pathways and decreasesandrogen-responsiveness in LNCaP cells. β-CDODA-Me alone (A) and incombination with T007 (B) induces proapoptotic pathways. LNCaP cellswere treated as indicated for 24 hr, and whole cell lysates wereanalyzed by Western blot analysis as described in the Examples.β-CDODA-Me-induced DNA fragmentation (A) was also determined asdescribed. Effects of β-CDODA-Me alone and in combination with DHT orT007 (C) or MG132 (D), and whole cell lysates were analyzed by Westernblot analysis as described in the Examples.

FIG. 20 shows that β-CDODA-Me induces proapoptotic proteins and kinases.Induction of NAG-1, ATF-3 and Egr-1 (A) and kinases (B) by β-CDODA-Me.LNCaP cells were treated with 2.5 μM β-CDODA-Me, and whole cell lysatesisolated at different times after treatment were analyzed by Westernblot analysis as described in the Examples. Effects of kinase inhibitorson proapoptotic responses (C) and quantitation of NAG-1 and ATF-3expression (D). LNCaP cells were treated with 2.5 μM β-CDODA alone or incombination with various kinase inhibitors and after 24 hr, whole celllysates were analyzed by Western blot analysis. Levels of NAG-1 andATF-3 proteins (normalized to (β-actin) (D) are means±SE for threeseparate determinations for each treatment group and significantly(p<0.05) decreased levels after cotreatment with a kinase inhibitor areindicated (**).

FIG. 21 shows that β-CDODA-Me induction of p21 is MAPK-dependent. (A)Effects of kinase inhibitors on induction of p21. LNCaP cells weretreated with DMSO, 2.5 μM β-CDODA-Me alone or in combination with kinaseinhibitors for 24 hr, and whole cell lysates were analyzed by Westernblot analysis as described in the Examples. (B) β-CDODA-Me activates p21promoter constructs. LNCaP cells were transfected with p21 promoterconstructs, treated with DMSO or different concentrations of β-CDODA-Me,and luciferase activity was determined as described in the Examples.Results are means±SE for three separate determinations for eachtreatment group, and significant (p<0.05) induction of activity isindicated (*). (C) Inhibition by PD98059. Cells were transfected withp21-luc(101), treated with DMSO, β-CDODA-Me alone or in combination with10 μM PD98059. Results are expressed as means±SE for three separatedeterminations for each treatment group, and significant (p<0.05)induction by β-CDODA-Me (*) and inhibition after cotreatment withPD98059 (**) are indicated.

FIG. 22 shows that β-CDODA-Me decreases AR gene expression. Effects ofT007 (A) and cycloheximide (B) on β-CDODA-Me-dependent effects on ARgene expression. LNCaP cells were treated with β-CDODA-Me alone or incombination with T007 or cycloheximide for 12 or 18 hr, and AR mRNAlevels were determined by real time PCR as described in the Examples.(C) β-CDODA-Me decreases AR promoter activity. LNCaP cells weretransfected with AR-luc, treated with DMSO or β-CDODA-Me, and luciferaseactivity determined as described in the Examples. Results are means±SEfor three separate experiments for each treatment group and asignificant (p<0.05) decrease in activity is indicated (*). (D)Time-dependent effects of β-CDODA-Me on AR, Sp1 and PARP (cleaved).LNCaP cells were treated with DMSO or β-CDODA-Me for up to 24 hr, andwhole cell lysates were analyzed by Western blot analysis as describedin the Examples.

FIG. 23 shows that β-CDODA-Me decreases PSA expression. Effects of T007(A) and cycloheximide (B) on β-CDODA-Me-dependent effects on PSA geneexpression. LNCaP cells were treated with β-CDODA-Me alone or incombination with T007 or cycloheximide for 12 or 18 hr, and PSA mRNAlevels were determined by real time PCR as described in the Examples.β-CDODA-Me decreases PSA promoter (C) and DHT-induced (D) PSA promoteractivity. LNCaP cells were transfected with PSA-luc, treated with DMSO,β-CDODA-Me, DHT and β-CDODA-Me plus DHT (combined), and luciferaseactivity determined as described in the Examples. Results are means±SEfor three replicate determinations for each treatment group, andsignificantly (p<0.05) decreased basal or DHT-induced luciferaseactivity by β-CDODA-Me is indicated (*).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Definitions

The “compounds of the invention” include compounds of Formula I ashereinbefore defined, including all polymorphs and crystal habitsthereof, salts, prodrugs and isomers thereof (including optical,geometric and tautomeric isomers) as hereinafter defined andisotopically-labeled compounds of Formula I.

Unless specified otherwise, the term “alkyl”, when used alone or incombination with other groups or atoms, refers to a saturated straightor branched chain consisting solely of 1 to 6 hydrogen-substitutedcarbon atoms, suitably 1 to 4 hydrogen-substituted carbon atoms, andincludes methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, s-butyl, isobutyl,t-butyl, 2,2-dimethylbutyl, n-pentyl, 2-methylpentyl, 3-methylpentyl,4-methylpentyl, n-hexyl and the like.

Unless specified otherwise, the term “alkenyl” refers to a partiallyunsaturated straight or branched chain consisting solely of 2 to 6hydrogen-substituted carbon atoms that contains at least one doublebond, and includes vinyl, allyl, 2-methylprop-1-enyl, but-1-enyl,but-2-enyl, but-3-enyl, 2-methylbut-1-enyl, 2-methylpent-1-enyl,4-methylpent-1-enyl, 4-methylpent-2-enyl, 2-methylpent-2-enyl,4-methylpenta-1,3-dienyl, hexen-1-yl and the like.

Unless specified otherwise, the term “alkynyl” refers to a partiallyunsaturated straight or branched chain consisting solely of 2 to 8hydrogen-substituted carbon atoms that contains at least one triplebond, and includes ethynyl, 1-propynyl, 2-propynyl, 2-methylprop-1-ynyl,1-butynyl, 2-butynyl, 3-butynyl, 1,3-butadiynyl, 3-methylbut-1-ynyl,4-methylbut-ynyl, 4-methylbut-2-ynyl, 2-methylbut-1-ynyl, 1-pentynyl,2-pentynyl, 3-pentynyl, 4-pentynyl, 1,3-pentadiynyl, 1,4-pentadiynyl,3-methylpent-1-ynyl, 4-methylpent-2-ynyl, 4-methylpent-2-ynyl, 1-hexynyland the like.

Unless specified otherwise, as used herein, the term aryl refers to anaromatic mono- or bicyclic group containing from 6 to 14 carbon atomsthat may be optionally fused with a fully or partially saturatedcarbocyclic ring and may optionally be substituted with one or moresubstituents, suitably one to three substituents, independently selectedfrom C₁₋₄alkyl, fluoro-substituted C₁₋₄alkyl, halo, OC₁₋₄alkyl,fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₄alkyl, NO₂ and CN. Examples of aryl groupsinclude phenyl, naphthyl, indanyl and the like.

Unless specified otherwise, as used herein, the term heteroaryl refersto an aromatic mono- or bicyclic group containing from 5 to 14 carbonatoms, of which one to five is replaced with a heteroatom selected fromN, S and O, that may optionally be substituted with one or moresubstituents, suitably one to three substituents, independently selectedfrom C₁₋₄alkyl, fluoro-substituted C₁₋₄alkyl, halo, OC₁₋₄alkyl,fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₄alkyl, NO₂ and CN. Examples of aryl groupsinclude thienyl, benzimidazolyl, benzo[b]thienyl, furanyl, benzofuranyl,pyranyl, isobenzofuranyl, chromenyl, xanthenyl, pyrrolyl, imidazolyl,pyrazolyl, pyridyl, pyrazinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyridazinyl, indolizinyl,isoindolyl, indolyl, indazolyl, purinyl, quinolizinyl, isoquinolyl,quinolyl, and the like.

Unless specified otherwise, the term “fluoro-substituted” as used hereinmeans that, in the group being described, one or more, including all, ofthe hydrogen atoms has been replaced by F. For example, afluoro-substituted alkyl includes trifluoromethyl, trifluoroethyl,pentafluoroethyl and the like.

Unless specified otherwise, as used herein, the terms “halogen” and“halo” include F, Cl, Br, and I.

Under standard nomenclature rules used throughout this disclosure, thepoint of attachment of the designated side chain is described firstfollowed by the adjacent functionality toward the terminal portion. Asubstituent's point of attachment may also be indicated by a dashed lineto indicate the point(s) of attachment, followed by the adjacentfunctionality and ending with the terminal functionality.

It is intended that the definition of any substituent or variable at aparticular location in a molecule be independent of its definitionselsewhere in that molecule. It is understood that substituents andsubstitution patterns on the compounds of this invention can be selectedby one of ordinary skill in the art to provide compounds that arechemically stable and that can be readily synthesized by techniquesknown in the art as well as those methods set forth herein.

The term “pharmaceutically acceptable” means compatible with thetreatment of animals, in particular, humans.

The term “pharmaceutically acceptable salt” includes bothpharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts and pharmaceuticallyacceptable basic addition salts.

The term “pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt” as used hereinmeans any non-toxic organic or inorganic salt of any base compound ofthe disclosure, or any of its intermediates. Basic compounds of thedisclosure that may form an acid addition salt include, for example,where the R¹ and/or R² is substituted with NH₂, NHC₁-C₆alkyl orN(C₁-C₆alkyl)(C₁-C₆alkyl). Illustrative inorganic acids which formsuitable salts include hydrochloric, hydrobromic, sulfuric andphosphoric acids, as well as metal salts such as sodium monohydrogenorthophosphate and potassium hydrogen sulfate. Illustrative organicacids that form suitable salts include mono-, di-, and tricarboxylicacids such as glycolic, lactic, pyruvic, malonic, succinic, glutaric,fumaric, malic, tartaric, citric, ascorbic, maleic, benzoic,phenylacetic, cinnamic and salicylic acids, as well as sulfonic acidssuch as p-toluene sulfonic and methanesulfonic acids. Either the mono ordi-acid salts can be formed, and such salts may exist in either ahydrated, solvated or substantially anhydrous form. In general, the acidaddition salts of the compounds of the disclosure are more soluble inwater and various hydrophilic organic solvents, and generallydemonstrate higher melting points in comparison to their free baseforms. The selection of the appropriate salt will be known to oneskilled in the art. Other non-pharmaceutically acceptable acid additionsalts, e.g. oxalates, may be used, for example, in the isolation of thecompounds of the disclosure, for laboratory use, or for subsequentconversion to a pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt.

The term “pharmaceutically acceptable basic salt” as used herein meansany non-toxic organic or inorganic basic addition salt of any acidcompound of the invention, or any of its intermediates, which aresuitable for or compatible with the treatment of animals, in particularhumans. Acidic compounds of the invention that may form a basic additionsalt include, for example, those where R¹ is C(O)OH. Illustrativeinorganic bases which form suitable salts include lithium, sodium,potassium, calcium, magnesium or barium hydroxide. Illustrative organicbases which form suitable salts include aliphatic, alicyclic or aromaticorganic amines such as methylamine, trimethylamine and picoline orammonia. The selection of the appropriate salt will be known to a personskilled in the art. Other non-pharmaceutically acceptable basic additionsalts, may be used, for example, in the isolation of the compounds ofthe invention, for laboratory use, or for subsequent conversion to apharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt. The formation of adesired compound salt is achieved using standard techniques. Forexample, the neutral compound is treated with a base in a suitablesolvent and the formed salt is isolated by filtration, extraction or anyother suitable method.

The term “cancer” as used herein refers to a class of diseases ordisorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and theability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growthinto adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distantsites by metastasis. Metastasis is defined as the stage in which cancercells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system.Examples of cancer that may be treated using the compounds of theinvention include those that benefit from an up-regulation of theactivity of PPARγ relative to normal cells and/or that benefit from adownregulation of the expression and/or activity of specificity proteins(Sp), in particular Sp1, Sp3 and/or Sp4. Examples of such cancersinclude, but are not limited to, prostate cancer, colon cancer, breastcancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancerrenal cancer and pancreatic cancer. Suitably the cancer is prostatecancer, colon cancer or pancreatic cancer.

The term a “therapeutically effective amount”, “effective amount” or a“sufficient amount” of a compound of the present invention is a quantitysufficient to, when administered to the subject, including a mammal, forexample a human, effect beneficial or desired results, includingclinical results, and, as such, an “effective amount” or synonym theretodepends upon the context in which it is being applied. For example, inthe context of upregulating PPARγ, for example, it is an amount of thecompound sufficient to achieve such an upregulation of PPARγ activity ascompared to the response obtained without administration of thecompound. In the context of downregulating the expression and/oractivity of Sp proteins, for example, it is an amount of the compoundsufficient to achieve such a downregulation as compared to the responseobtained without administration of the compound. In the context ofdisease, therapeutically effective amounts of the compounds of thepresent invention are used to treat, modulate, attenuate, reverse, oraffect a disease or conditions that benefits from an upregulation ofPPARγ activity and/or downregulation of the expression and/or activityof Sp proteins, for example, cancer in a subject. An “effective amount”is intended to mean that amount of a compound that is sufficient totreat, prevent or inhibit such diseases or conditions. The amount of agiven compound of the present invention that will correspond to such anamount will vary depending upon various factors, such as the given drugor compound, the pharmaceutical formulation, the route ofadministration, the type of disease or disorder, the identity of thesubject or host being treated, and the like, but can nevertheless beroutinely determined by one skilled in the art. Also, as used herein, a“therapeutically effective amount” of a compound of the presentinvention is an amount which prevents, inhibits, suppresses or reduces adisease or conditions that benefits from an upregulation of PPARγactivity and/or downregulation of the expression and/or activity of Spproteins, for example, cancer as determined by clinical symptoms or theamount of cancer cells, in a subject as compared to a control. Asdefined herein, a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of thepresent invention may be readily determined by one of ordinary skill byroutine methods known in the art.

In an embodiment, a therapeutically effective amount of a compound ofthe present invention ranges from about 0.1 to about 40 mg/kg bodyweight, suitably about 1 to about 10 mg/kg body weight, and moresuitably, from about 2 to about 5 mg/kg body weight. The skilled artisanwill appreciate that certain factors may influence the dosage requiredto effectively treat a subject, or prevent a subject, suffering from adisease or conditions that benefits from an upregulation of PPARγactivity and/or downregulation of the expression and/or activity of Spproteins, for example cancer, and these factors include, but are notlimited to, the severity of the disease or disorder, previoustreatments, the general health and/or age of the subject and otherdiseases present.

Moreover, a “treatment” or “prevention” regime of a subject with atherapeutically effective amount of the compound of the presentinvention may consist of a single administration, or alternativelycomprise a series of applications. For example, the compound of thepresent invention may be administered at least once a week. However, inanother embodiment, the compound may be administered to the subject fromabout one time per week to about once daily for a given treatment. Thelength of the treatment period depends on a variety of factors, such asthe severity of the disease, the age of the patient, the concentrationand the activity of the compounds of the present invention, or acombination thereof. It will also be appreciated that the effectivedosage of the compound used for the treatment or prophylaxis mayincrease or decrease over the course of a particular treatment orprophylaxis regime. Changes in dosage may result and become apparent bystandard diagnostic assays known in the art. In some instances, chronicadministration may be required.

As used herein, “administered contemporaneously” means that twosubstances are administered to a subject such that they are bothbiologically active in the subject at the same time. The exact detailsof the administration will depend on the pharmacokinetics of the twosubstances in the presence of each other, and can include administeringone substance within 24 hours of administration of the other, if thepharmacokinetics are suitable. Designs of suitable dosing regimens areroutine for one skilled in the art. In particular embodiments, twosubstances will be administered substantially simultaneously, i.e.within minutes of each other, or in a single composition that comprisesboth substances.

As used herein, and as well understood in the art, “treatment” is anapproach for obtaining beneficial or desired results, including clinicalresults. Beneficial or desired clinical results can include, but are notlimited to, alleviation or amelioration of one or more symptoms orconditions, diminishment of extent of disease, stabilized (i.e. notworsening) state of disease, preventing spread of disease, delay orslowing of disease progression, amelioration or palliation of thedisease state, and remission (whether partial or total), whetherdetectable or undetectable. “Treatment” can also mean prolongingsurvival as compared to expected survival if not receiving treatment.

“Palliating” a disease or disorder means that the extent and/orundesirable clinical manifestations of a disorder or a disease state arelessened and/or time course of the progression is slowed or lengthened,as compared to not treating the disorder.

The term “prevention” or “prophylaxis”, or synonym thereto, as usedherein refers to a reduction in the risk or probability of a patientbecoming afflicted with cancer or manifesting a symptom associated withcancer.

To “inhibit” or “suppress” or “reduce” or “downregulate” a function oractivity, such Sp protein expression or activity, is to reduce thefunction or activity when compared to otherwise same conditions exceptfor a condition or parameter of interest, or alternatively, as comparedto another conditions.

To “increase” or “upregulate” a function or activity, such as PPARγactivity, is to increase the function or activity when compared tootherwise same conditions except for a condition or parameter ofinterest, or alternatively, as compared to another conditions.

The term “subject” or “patient” or synonym thereto, as used hereinincludes all members of the animal kingdom, especially mammals,including human. The subject or patient is suitably a human.

The term “a cell” as used herein includes a plurality of cells.Administering a compound to a cell includes in vivo, ex vivo and invitro treatment.

In understanding the scope of the present disclosure, the term“comprising” and its derivatives, as used herein, are intended to beopen ended terms that specify the presence of the stated features,elements, components, groups, integers, and/or steps, but do not excludethe presence of other unstated features, elements, components, groups,integers and/or steps. The foregoing also applies to words havingsimilar meanings such as the terms, “including”, “having” and theirderivatives. Finally, terms of degree such as “substantially”, “about”and “approximately” as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviationof the modified term such that the end result is not significantlychanged. These terms of degree should be construed as including adeviation of at least ±5% of the modified term if this deviation wouldnot negate the meaning of the word it modifies.

Unless otherwise indicated, the terms “a”, “an” and “the” as used hereinmean one or more that one.

Compounds of the Invention

A new class of compounds derived from glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), theactive component of licorice which has been widely used for medicinalpurposes, has been identified as anticancer drugs that inhibit tumorgrowth, metastasis and survival. Results show that a 2-cyano derivativeof GA, namely methyl 2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18β-olean-1,12-dien-30-oate(β-CDODA-Me) and the corresponding 18α isomer (α-CDODA-Me), along withstructurally related analogs, both activate PPARγ and induce Sp proteindegradation in colon and pancreatic cancer cells. Accordingly, CDODA-Meand related compounds are a novel class of new mechanism-basedanticancer drugs that act as PPARγ agonists and by decreasing expressionof Sp proteins in pancreatic and colon cancer.

Accordingly, in one of its aspect, the present invention includes acompound selected from a compound of Formula (I):

whereinR¹ is selected from CN, halo, NO₂, CO₂R³, C₁₋₆alkyl, fluoro-substitutedC₁₋₆alkyl, C₂₋₆alkenyl, C₂₋₆alkynyl, OR³, SR³, SOR³, SO₂R³, NR³R⁴,C(O)NR³R⁴, C(O)R³, OC(O)R³, NHC(O)R³, P(O)R³R⁴, —C≡C—R³, —CR³═CR⁴R⁵,aryl and heteroaryl;R² is selected from OC₁₋₆alkyl, fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₆alkyl, NH₂,NHC₁₋₆alkyl, N(C₁₋₆alkyl)(C₁₋₆alkyl), SH and SC₁₋₆alkyl;R³, R⁴ and R⁵ are independently selected from H, C₁₋₆alkyl,fluoro-substituted C₁₋₆alkyl, aryl and heteroaryl; andone of X and Y is C═O while the other is CH₂, and if X is C═O then

adjacent to X represents a single bond and

adjacent to Y represents a double bond and if Y is C═O then

adjacent to Y represents a single bond and

adjacent to X represents a double bond;and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, solvates and prodrugs thereof.

In an embodiment of the present invention, R¹ is selected from CN, halo,NO₂, CO₂H, CO₂C₁₋₆alkyl, C₁₋₆alkyl, fluoro-substituted C₁₋₆alkyl,C₂₋₆alkenyl, C₂₋₆alkynyl, OC₁₋₆alkyl, fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₆alkyl, OH,SH, SC₁₋₆alkyl, SOC₁₋₆alkyl, SO₂C₁₋₆alkyl, NH₂, NHC₁₋₆alkyl,N(C₁₋₆alkyl)(C₁₋₆alkyl), C(O)NH₂, C(O)NHC₁₋₆alkyl,C(O)N(C₁₋₆alkyl)(C₁₋₆alkyl), C(O)C₁₋₆alkyl, OC(O)C₁₋₆alkyl andNHC(O)C₁₋₆alkyl. In a further embodiment of the invention, R¹ isselected from CN, halo, NO₂, CO₂H, CO₂C₁₋₄alkyl, C₁₋₄alkyl,fluoro-substituted C₁₋₄alkyl, C₂₋₄alkenyl, C₂₋₄alkynyl, OC₁₋₄alkyl,fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₄alkyl, OH, SH, SC₁₋₄alkyl, SOC₁₋₄alkyl,SO₂C₁₋₄alkyl, NH₂, NHC₁₋₄alkyl, N(C₁₋₄alkyl)(C₁₋₄alkyl), C(O)NH₂,C(O)NHC₁₋₄alkyl, C(O)N(C₁₋₄alkyl)(C₁₋₄alkyl), C(O)C₁₋₄alkyl,OC(O)C₁₋₄alkyl and NHC(O)C₁₋₄alkyl. In another embodiment of the presentinvention R¹ is selected from CN, halo, CO₂H, CO₂C₁₋₄alkyl, C₁₋₄alkyl,fluoro-substituted C₁₋₄alkyl, OC₁₋₄alkyl, fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₄alkyland OH. In further embodiments of the invention, R¹ is selected from CN,Cl, Br, I, F, CO₂H, CO₂CH₃, CH₃, CF₃, OCH₃, OCF₃ and OH. In stillfurther embodiments of the invention, R¹ is CN, CF₃ or I.

In an embodiment of the invention R² is selected from OC₁₋₄alkyl,fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₄alkyl, NH₂, NHC₁₋₄alkyl,N(C₁₋₄alkyl)(C₁₋₄alkyl), SH and SC₁₋₄alkyl. In further embodiments ofthe invention R² is selected from OC₁₋₄alkyl and fluoro-substitutedOC₁₋₄alkyl. In still further embodiments of the invention, R² isselected from OCH₂CH₃, OCH₃ and OCF₃. In still further embodiments ofthe invention, R² is OCH₃.

In an embodiment of the invention R³, R⁴ and R⁵ are independentlyselected from H, C₁₋₄alkyl, fluoro-substituted C₁₋₄alkyl and phenyl. Ina further embodiment, R³, R⁴ and R⁵ are independently selected from H,methyl and CF₃.

In an embodiment of the invention one of X is C═O and Y is CH₂,

adjacent to X represents a single bond and

adjacent to Y represents a double bond providing the following compoundsof Formula I:

The compounds of Formula I include those having either the α or βconfiguration at carbon 18 or mixtures thereof in any ratio.Accordingly, in an embodiment of the invention, the compound of FormulaI is selected from:

and mixtures thereof in any ratio. It is to be understood that while thestereochemistry of the compounds of the invention may be as shown abovein any given compound listed herein, such compounds of the invention mayalso contain certain amounts (e.g. less than 20%, preferably less than10%, more preferably less than 5%) of compounds of the invention havingalternate stereochemistry.

In an embodiment of the invention, the compound of Formula I is selectedfrom:

-   2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester;-   2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester;-   2-iodo-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester;-   2-iodo-3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester;-   2-trifluoromethyl-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl    ester; and-   2-trifluoromethyl-3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl    ester.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the compound of Formula I is2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester.

The compounds of the invention may exist in a continuum of solid statesranging from fully amorphous to fully crystalline. The term “amorphous”refers to a state in which the material lacks long range order at themolecular level and, depending upon temperature, may exhibit thephysical properties of a solid or a liquid. Typically such materials donot give distinctive X-ray diffraction patterns and, while exhibitingthe properties of a solid, are more formally described as a liquid. Uponheating, a change from solid to liquid properties occurs which ischaracterized by a change of state, typically second order (“glasstransition”). The term “crystalline” refers to a solid phase in whichthe material has a regular ordered internal structure at the molecularlevel and gives a distinctive X-ray diffraction pattern with definedpeaks. Such materials when heated sufficiently will also exhibit theproperties of a liquid, but the change from solid to liquid ischaracterized by a phase change, typically first order (“meltingpoint”).

The compounds of the invention may also exist in unsolvated and solvatedforms. The term “solvate” is used herein to describe a molecular complexcomprising the compound of the invention and one or morepharmaceutically acceptable solvent molecules, for example, ethanol. Theterm “hydrate” is employed when said solvent is water. A currentlyaccepted classification system for organic hydrates is one that definesisolated site, channel, or metal-ion coordinated hydrates (seePolymorphism in Pharmaceutical Solids by K. R. Morris, Ed. H. G.Brittain, Marcel Dekker, 1995). Isolated site hydrates are ones in whichthe water molecules are isolated from direct contact with each other byintervening organic molecules. In channel hydrates, the water moleculeslie in lattice channels where they are next to other water molecules. Inmetal-ion coordinated hydrates, the water molecules are bonded to themetal ion. When the solvent or water is tightly bound, the complex willhave a well-defined stoichiometry independent of humidity. When,however, the solvent or water is weakly bound, as in channel solvatesand hygroscopic compounds, the water/solvent content will be dependenton humidity and drying conditions. In such cases, non-stoichiometry willbe the norm.

Herein all references to compounds of Formula I include references tosalts, solvates, prodrugs and multi-component complexes thereof.

The compounds of Formula I can be prepared using methods known in theart, for example, 18α- and 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid and their methylesters may be converted into the corresponding dienones by reaction with2-iodoxybenzoic acid as per a reported method (74). The corresponding1-saturated-2-cyano 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid and 1-saturated-2-cyano18α-glycyrrhetinic acid and their methyl esters are known (75) and maybe reacted with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) to givethe corresponding 2-cyano-dienones. Further, dienones of 18α- and18β-glycyrrhetinic acid and their methyl esters may be iodinated atposition 3 by reacting with iodine and pyridine in an ether solvent asdescribed in the Examples herein.

The present invention includes radiolabeled forms of the compounds ofthe invention, for example, compounds of the invention labeled byincorporation within the structure ³H, ¹¹C or ¹⁴C or a radioactivehalogen such as ¹²⁵I and ¹⁸F. A radiolabeled compound of the inventionmay be prepared using standard methods known in the art. For example,tritium may be incorporated into a compound of the invention usingstandard techniques, for example by hydrogenation of a suitableprecursor to a compound of the invention using tritium gas and acatalyst. Alternatively, a compound of the invention containingradioactive iodo may be prepared from the corresponding trialkyltin(suitably trimethyltin) derivative using standard iodination conditions,such as [¹²⁵I] sodium iodide in the presence of chloramine-T in asuitable solvent, such as dimethylformamide. The trialkyltin compoundmay be prepared from the corresponding non-radioactive halo, suitablyiodo, compound using standard palladium-catalyzed stannylationconditions, for example hexamethylditin in the presence oftetrakis(triphenylphosphine) palladium (0) in an inert solvent, such asdioxane, and at elevated temperatures, suitably 50-100° C. Further, acompound of the invention containing a radioactive fluorine may beprepared, for example, by reaction of K[¹⁸F]/K222 with a suitableprecursor compound, such as a compound of Formula I comprising asuitable leaving group, for example a tosyl group, that may be displacedwith the ¹⁸F anion.

Methods and Compositions

The present invention relates to novel compounds of Formula I,accordingly the present invention includes all uses of these compoundsincluding, for example, in therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

The present invention accordingly includes the use of a compound of theinvention as a medicament or as a diagnositic.

In their ability to upregulate PPARγ, certain compounds of the inventionare useful for treating any condition or disease that benefits from anupregulation of PPARγ. In an embodiment of the invention, the conditionor disease that that benefits from an upregulation of PPARγ is diabetesand cancer.

Accordingly, the present invention includes a method of treating cancercomprising administering an effective amount of a compound of theinvention to a subject in need thereof. The invention also includes ause of a compound of the invention to treat cancer and a use of acompound of the invention to prepare a medicament to treat cancer. Inembodiments of the invention the cancer is selected from prostate cancerand gastrointestinal cancers, for example, colon cancer and pancreaticcancer.

The present invention also includes a method of treating cancercomprising administering an effective amount of a compound of theinvention to a subject in need thereof. Further the invention includes ause of a compound of the invention to treat cancer, as well as a use ofa compound of the invention to prepare a medicament to treat cancer.

In an embodiment of the invention, there is included a method oftreating diabetes, in particular insulin dependent type II diabetes,comprising administering an effective amount of PPARγ-upregulatingeffective amount of a compound of the invention to a subject in needthereof. The present invention also includes a use of aPPARγ-upregulating compound of the invention to treat diabetes as wellas a use of a PPARγ-upregulating compound of the invention to prepare amedicament to treat diabetes. In an embodiment of the invention thePPARγ-upregulating compound is2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester. Aperson skilled in the art would be able to identify PPARγ-upregulatingcompounds of the invention using, for example, using cell linestransfected with PPARγ-GAL4 as described in the Examples hereinbelow andin Chintharlapalli, S. et al. Mol. Cancer. Therap. 6:1588, 2007.

In their ability to downregulate the expression or activity of Spproteins, the compounds of the invention are useful for treating anycondition or disease that benefits from a downregulation in theexpression or activity of Sp proteins. In an embodiment of theinvention, the condition or disease that that benefits from adownregulation in the expression or activity of Sp proteins, inparticular Sp1, is Huntington's disease. The benefit provided to thepathology of Huntington's disease by suppressing the expression and/oractivity of Sp1 has been reported by Qiu, Z. et al. J. Biol. Chem.281:16672, 2006.

Accordingly, in a further embodiment of the present invention, there isincluded a method of treating Huntington's disease comprisingadministering an Sp protein-downregulating effective amount of acompound of the invention to a subject in need thereof. The presentinvention also includes a use of an Sp protein-downregulating compoundof the invention to treat diabetes as well as a use of an Spprotein-downregulating compound of the invention to prepare a medicamentto treat diabetes. In an embodiment of the invention the Sp protein isSp1, Sp3 and/or Sp4. A person skilled in the art would be able toidentify Sp protein-down-regulating compounds of the invention bycontacting one or more cells with a compound of the invention andassaying for the presence of one or more of the Sp proteins andcomparing the levels of Sp proteins in the one or more cells with thatof controls. Such methods are known in the art (66, 67) and aredescribed in the Examples hereinbelow.

The compounds of the invention are suitably formulated intopharmaceutical compositions for administration to human subjects in abiologically compatible form suitable for administration in vivo.Accordingly, in another aspect, the present invention includes apharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of the invention and apharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent.

The compositions containing the compounds of the invention can beprepared by known methods for the preparation of pharmaceuticallyacceptable compositions which can be administered to subjects, such thatan effective quantity of the active substance is combined in a mixturewith a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle. Suitable vehicles aredescribed, for example, in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences(2003-20th edition) and in The United States Pharmacopeia: The NationalFormulary (USP 24 NF19) published in 1999. On this basis, thecompositions include, albeit not exclusively, solutions of thesubstances in association with one or more pharmaceutically acceptablevehicles or diluents, and contained in buffered solutions with asuitable pH and iso-osmotic with the physiological fluids.

In accordance with the methods of the invention, the describedcompounds, salts or solvates thereof may be administered to a patient ina variety of forms depending on the selected route of administration, aswill be understood by those skilled in the art. The compositions of theinvention may be administered, for example, by oral, parenteral, buccal,sublingual, nasal, rectal, patch, pump or transdermal (topical)administration and the pharmaceutical compositions formulatedaccordingly. Parenteral administration includes intravenous,intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, intramuscular, transepithelial, nasal,intrapulmonary, intrathecal, rectal and topical modes of administration.Parenteral administration may be by continuous infusion over a selectedperiod of time.

A compound of the invention may be orally administered, for example,with an inert diluent or with an assimilable edible carrier, or it maybe enclosed in hard or soft shell gelatin capsules, or it may becompressed into tablets, or it may be incorporated directly with thefood of the diet. For oral therapeutic administration, the compound ofthe invention may be incorporated with excipient and used in the form ofingestible tablets, buccal tablets, troches, capsules, elixirs,suspensions, syrups, wafers, and the like.

A compound of the invention may also be administered parenterally.Solutions of a compound of the invention can be prepared in watersuitably mixed with a surfactant such as hydroxypropylcellulose.Dispersions can also be prepared in glycerol, liquid polyethyleneglycols, DMSO and mixtures thereof with or without alcohol, and in oils.Under ordinary conditions of storage and use, these preparations containa preservative to prevent the growth of microorganisms. A person skilledin the art would know how to prepare suitable formulations.

The pharmaceutical forms suitable for injectable use include sterileaqueous solutions or dispersion and sterile powders for theextemporaneous preparation of sterile injectable solutions ordispersions. In all cases the form must be sterile and must be fluid tothe extent that easy syringability exists. Ampoules are convenient unitdosages.

Compositions for nasal administration may conveniently be formulated asaerosols, drops, gels and powders. Aerosol formulations typicallycomprise a solution or fine suspension of the active substance in aphysiologically acceptable aqueous or non-aqueous solvent and areusually presented in single or multidose quantities in sterile form in asealed container, which can take the form of a cartridge or refill foruse with an atomizing device. Alternatively, the sealed container may bea unitary dispensing device such as a single dose nasal inhaler or anaerosol dispenser fitted with a metering valve which is intended fordisposal after use. Where the dosage form comprises an aerosoldispenser, it will contain a propellant which can be a compressed gassuch as compressed air or an organic propellant such asfluorochlorohydrocarbon. The aerosol dosage forms can also take the formof a pump-atomizer.

Compositions suitable for buccal or sublingual administration includetablets, lozenges, and pastilles, wherein the active ingredient isformulated with a carrier such as sugar, acacia, tragacanth, or gelatinand glycerine. Compositions for rectal administration are convenientlyin the form of suppositories containing a conventional suppository basesuch as cocoa butter.

Compositions for topical administration may include, for example,propylene glycol, isopropyl alcohol, mineral oil and glycerin.Preparations suitable for topical administration include liquid orsemi-liquid preparations such as liniments, lotions, applicants,oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsions such as creams, ointments orpastes; or solutions or suspensions such as drops. In addition to theaforementioned ingredients, the topical preparations may include one ormore additional ingredients such as diluents, buffers, flavouringagents, binders, surface active agents, thickeners, lubricants,preservatives, e.g. methyl hydroxybenzoate (including anti-oxidants),emulsifying agents and the like.

Sustained or direct release compositions can be formulated, e.g.liposomes or those wherein the active compound is protected withdifferentially degradable coatings, such as by microencapsulation,multiple coatings, etc. It is also possible to freeze-dry the compoundsof the invention and use the lypolizates obtained, for example, for thepreparation of products for injection.

The compounds of the invention may be administered to a subject alone orin combination with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, as notedabove, and/or with other pharmaceutically active agents for thetreatment of psychosis, the proportion of which is determined by thesolubility and chemical nature of the compounds, chosen route ofadministration and standard pharmaceutical practice.

The dosage of the compounds of Formula I and/or compositions of theinvention can vary depending on many factors such as the pharmacodynamicproperties of the compound, the mode of administration, the age, healthand weight of the recipient, the nature and extent of the symptoms, thefrequency of the treatment and the type of concurrent treatment, if any,and the clearance rate of the compound in the animal to be treated. Oneof skill in the art can determine the appropriate dosage based on theabove factors. The compounds of Formula I may be administered initiallyin a suitable dosage that may be adjusted as required, depending on theclinical response. For ex vivo treatment of cells over a short period,for example for 30 minutes to 1 hour or longer, higher doses of compoundmay be used than for long term in vivo therapy.

The compounds of Formula I, or salts or solvates thereof, can be usedalone or in combination with other agents or therapies, for exampleother agents or therapies that treat cancer, for example, but notlimited to, cytotoxic drugs, kinase inhibitors, antibodies andimmunotherapy, selective receptor modulators, non-steroidalanti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and enzyme modulators

While the following Examples illustrate the invention in further detail,it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the specificExamples.

EXAMPLES Materials and Methods for Examples 1-6

Melting points were determined with a Kofler hot-stage apparatus. ¹H NMRspectra were run in CDCl₃ on a Bruker Avance-400 spectrometer usingMe₄Si as an internal standard. For analytical and preparative use, TLCplates were spread with Silica Gel 60 GF (Merck). Silica for columnchromatography was obtained from Selecto Scientific. Elementalmicroanalyses were carried out by Guelph Chemical Laboratories Ltd.18β-Glycyrrhetinic acid was purchased from Aldrich.

Example 1(a) 3,11-Dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid

A mixture of 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (157 mg, 0.3333 mmol) and2-iodoxybenzoic acid (24) (373.4 mg, 1.333 mmol, 4 equiv) in dimethylsulfoxide (7 mL, freshly distilled from CaH₂) was stirred with heatingat 85° C. for 21 h. After cooling, the solution was poured into water(100 mL) giving a white precipitate. This precipitate did not dissolvewhen Et₂O (50 mL) was added. It was collected and washed with water andthe ether layer recovered, dried and evaporated. After drying, theprecipitate was washed thoroughly with MeOH/CH₂Cl₂ (1:9). The solutionobtained was evaporated and the resulting solid combined with thatrecovered earlier from the ether extract. This material (381.6 mg) wastriturated with EtOAc (5 mL) to give a free-flowing fine whitesuspension that was filtered off and washed several times with EtOAc.The combined filtrates when evaporated, in vacuo, gave a white solid(176.1 mg) which was subjected to preparative scale TLC usingMeOH/CH₂Cl₂ (1:19) as eluant. The main band gave the title compound as awhite solid (133.1 mg, 85.5%) which, on crystallization from MeOH, gavecolorless prisms (104.7 mg), mp 270-5° C. ¹H NMR δ 7.746 (1H, d, J=10.4Hz, C1-H), 5.816 (1H, d, J=10.4 Hz, C2-H), 5.817 (1H, s, C12-H), 2.691(1H, s, C9-H), 1.422, 1.401, 1.245, 1.191, 1.169, 1.118, 0.872 (all 3H,s, CMe). Anal C₃₀H₄₂O₄ (C, H).

(b) 3,11-Dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid

In a like manner, 3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid wasprepared from 18α-glycyrrhetinic acid (which was purchased fromSigma-Aldrich).

Example 2(a) Methyl 3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oate

Methyl 18β-glycyrrhetinate was prepared by diazomethylation of18β-glycyrrhetinic acid and a sample (161.6 mg, 0.3333 mmol) reactedwith the IBX reagent (373.4 mg, 1.333 mmol, 4 equiv) as described inExample 1 for the parent acid. After a similar work-up, the recoveredproduct (375.7 mg) was triturated with EtOAc, the derived suspensionfiltered off and washed with more solvent. Evaporation of the combinedfiltrates gave an off-white solid (256.7 mg) which showed one major bandon preparative TLC (MeOH/CH₂Cl₂; 1:19). This band gave the titlecompound as a colorless solid (155.3 mg, 96.9%), which oncrystallization from MeOH/H₂O (4:1) and washing with fresh solvent(3×0.5 mL, rather soluble), gave clear, flat needles (140.2 mg), mp192-4° C. ¹H NMR δ 7.745 (1H, d, J=10.0 Hz, C1-H), 5.812 (1H, d, J=10.0Hz, C2-H), 5.770 (1H, s, C12-H), 3.078 (3H, s, OMe), 2.681 (1H, s,C9-H), 1.419, 1.390, 1.184, 1.166, 1.159, 1.118, 0.833 (all 3H, s, CMe).Anal C₃H₄₄O₄ (C, H).

(b) Methyl 3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oate

In a like manner methyl 3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oate wasprepared from methyl 18α-glycyrrhetinate.

Example 3(a) 2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid

2-Cyano-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-12-en-30-oic acid was prepared from18β-glycyrrhetinic acid as previously described (25) of this compoundand DDQ (16) (247.0 mg, 1.088 mmol) in dry benzene (55 mL) was heated toreflux, with stirring, for 6 h. Upon cooling, the reaction mixture wasfiltered and the collected solid washed with benzene. The orangefiltrate and washings were combined and evaporated to give a dark gumthat showed one major, but many minor products on TLC (MeOH/CH₂Cl₂,1:19; or EtOAc/hexane, 1:1, run twice). Preparative TLC, using thelatter conditions, and recovery of the material from the main band gavethe title compound (149.2 mg, 33.7%) as a yellow gum which solidified onstanding. This material was crystallized twice from EtOAc/hexane toafford a granular pale yellow solid (55.5 mg), mp 195-7° C., whichappeared to be essentially pure (by TLC and ¹H NMR). ¹H NMR δ 8.550 (1H,s, C1-H), 5.846 (1H, s, C12-H), 2.2.715 (1H, s, C9-H), 1.455, 1.404,1.255, 1.225, 1.200, 1.162, 0.876 (all 3H, s, CMe). Anal C₃₁H₄₁NO₄ (C,H, N).

(b) 2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid

In a like manner, 2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acidwas prepared from 18α-glycyrrhetinic acid.

Example 4(a) Methyl 2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oate

Methyl 2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-12-en-30-oate was also preparedfrom methyl 18β-glycyrrhetinate as previously described (25) and asolution of the ester (246.9 mg, 0.4863 mmol) and DDQ (134.1 mg, 0.5905mmol) in dry benzene (20 mL) was heated to reflux for 5 h. The resultingclear solution, on cooling, deposited a fine rust-colored solid, whichwas filtered off. Evaporation of the filtrate, in vacuo, left a clearorange gum showing one major spot on TLC (EtOAc/hexane; 1:3).Preparative TLC of this gum using the same eluant afforded two bands: amain band, containing essentially pure (¹H NMR) title compound (156.9mg, 63.8%) and a slightly more polar band containing some of the titlecompound (¹H NMR) and other unidentified material (55.5 mg).Crystallization of the former from EtOAc/hexane gave tight clumps ofsmall white crystals (137.9 mg), mp 243-5° C. ¹H NMR δ 8.553 (1H, s,C1-H), 5.805 (1H, s, C12-H), 3.716 (3H, s, OMe), 2.706 (1H, s, C9-H),1.454, 1.393, 1.223, 1.194, 1.168, 1.161, 0.834 (all 3H, s, CMe). AnalC₃₂H₄₃NO₄ (C, H, N).

(b) Methyl 2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oate

In a like manner, methyl 2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oatewas prepared from methyl 18α-glycyrrhetinate

Example 5 Methyl 2-iodo-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-diene-30-oate

A mixture of methyl 3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-diene-30-oate (437.6 mg,0.9104 mmol), iodine (462.2 mg, 1.821 mmol) and pyridine (216 mg, 2.73mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (10 mL) was stirred and heated at reflux for 5h. The solvent was then removed in vacuo and the resulting dark gumdissolved in CH₂Cl₂ (25 mL). This solution was washed, successively,with aqueous sodium hydroxide (2 g in 20 mL), water (10 mL),hydrochloric acid (7.5 mL conc. HCl, 12.5 mL water), water (10 mL) andbrine (20 mL). The solution was then dried over sodium sulfate. Ananalytical TLC of this solution (MeOH/CH₂Cl₂, 1:49) showed one majorspot and a minor, more polar, spot corresponding to substrate. Thesolution was evaporated in vacuo to give an amber residue (607.7 mg)which was dissolved in CH₂Cl₂ and subjected to column chromatography(SiO₂, 32-63 mm, 20 g). Traces of residual iodine were washed off withCH₂Cl₂ and the product (534.0 mg) was recovered by washing withMeOH/CH₂Cl₂ (3:47). Crystallization of this white solid from hexaneafforded colorless needles (512.9 mg, 92.9%) of the title compound. ¹HNMR δ 8.538 (1H, s, C1-H), 5.782 (1H, s, C12-H), 3.711 (3H, s, OMe),2.722 (1H, s, C9-H), 1.454, 1.429, 1.400, 1.249, 1.167, 0.828 (all 3H,s, CMe), 1.172 (6H, s, 2× CMe).

Example 6 Preparation of methyl3,11-dioxo-2-trifluoromethyl-18β-oleanana-1,2-diene-30-oate

Dimethyl formamide (ca 15 mL; dried by stirring over CaH₂ overnightunder N₂) was vacuum-transferred into a dry Schlenk tube containingmethyl 3,11-dioxo-2-iodo-18β-oleanana-1,2-dien-30-oate (Example 5, 216.8mg, 0.3574 mmol) and cuprous iodide (166.6 mg, 0.8744 mmol). Thismixture was allowed to warm up to ambient temperature under vacuum andthen N₂ was admitted. The resulting solution, containing some suspendedsolid, was heated to 70° C. with stirring under N₂, and methylfluorosulfonyldifluoroacetate (0.66 mL, 1.0 g, 5.2 mmol) and thenhexamethylphosphoramide (1.0 mL) were added by syringe. Stirring of theresulting somewhat cloudy solution, was continued, with heating, underN₂ for 20 h.

The reaction solution containing a fine suspension of a rust-colouredsolid, was allowed to cool and then a saturated aqueous ammoniumchloride solution (30 mL) was added. The resulting solution wasextracted with diethyl ether three times (30, 15, and 15 mL); therust-coloured solid adhered to the walls of the separating funnel. Thecombined ether extracts were dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate.

Evaporation of the dried extracts in vacuo left a colourless oily solidwhich was subjected to preparative TLC (Merck silica, eluantMeOH/CH₂Cl₂, 1:99). The resulting plates showed one major band alongwith a minor very polar one. The main band was recovered and eluted withMeOH/CH₂Cl₂ (1:19). Evaporation of the solvent in vacuo left acolorless, crystalline solid (172.0 mg) which was crystallized fromhexane to give clear stout needles (150.4 mg) of methyl3,11-dioxo-2-trifluoromethyl-18β-oleanana-1,2-diene-30-oate: mp 221-223°C. (with sublimation from 208° C.). ¹H NMR spectrum, δ 8.212 (1H, s,C-1H), 5.809 (1H, s, C-12H), 3.709 (3H, s, OMe), 2.721 (1H, s, C-9H),1.429, 1.410, 1.199, 1.184, 1.171, 1.164 and 0.837 (all 3H, s, CMe).

Example 7 Effects of Compounds of the Invention on Colon Cancer CellLines Cell Lines

Human colon carcinoma cell lines SW480 and HT29 were provided by Dr.Stan Hamilton, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, Tex.); SW-480 andHT-29 cells were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's mediumnutrient mixture with Ham's F-12 (DMEM/Ham's F-12; Sigma-Aldrich, St.Louis, Mo.) with phenol red supplemented with 0.22% sodium bicarbonate,0.011% sodium pyruvate, and 5% fetal bovine serum and 10 ml/l 100×antibiotic antimycotic solution (Sigma-Aldrich). Cells were maintainedat 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂.

Antibodies and Reagents

Antibodies for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, cyclin D1, p27, p21,caveolin 1, KLF4 and Grp78 were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology,Inc. (Santa Cruz, Calif.). NAG-1 was from Upstate Biotechnology(Charlottesville, Va.). Monoclonal β-actin antibody was purchased fromSigma-Aldrich. Reporter lysis buffer and luciferase reagent forluciferase studies were supplied by Promega (Madison, Wis.).β-Galactosidase (β-Gal) reagent was obtained from Tropix (Bedford,Mass.), and LipofectAMINE reagent was purchased from Invitrogen(Carlsbad, Calif.). Western Lightning chemiluminescence reagent was fromPerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences (Boston, Mass.). The PPARγantagonists 2-chloro-5-nitro-N-phenylbenzamide (GW9662) andN-(4′-aminopyridyl)-2-chloro-5-nitrobenzamide (T007) were synthesizedusing the method described in Chem. Biol. 1997, 4(12):909-918, and theiridentities and purity (>98%) were confirmed by gas chromatography-massspectrometry.

Plasmids

The Gal4 reporter containing 5× Gal4 response elements (pGal4) waskindly provided by Dr. Marty Mayo (University of North Carolina, ChapelHill, N.C.). Gal4 DBD-PPARγ construct (gPPARγ) was a gift of Dr.Jennifer L. Oberfield (GlaxoSmithKline Research and Development,Research Triangle Park, N.C.). PPRE₃-luc construct contains three tandemPPREs with a minimal TATA sequence in pGL2.

Transfection and Luciferase Assay

Colon Cancer cell lines SW480 and HT29 (1×10⁵ cells/well) were plated in12-well plates in DMEM/Ham's F-12 media supplemented with 2.5%charcoal-stripped FBS. After 16 h, various amounts of DNA [i.e., Gal4Luc(0.4 μg), β-Gal (0.04 μg), Gal4PPAR and PPRE₃-Luc (0.04 μg)] weretransfected using LipofectAMINE™ reagent (Invitrogen) following themanufacturer's protocol. Five hours after transfection, the transfectionmix was replaced with complete media containing either vehicle (DMSO) orthe indicated ligand for 20 to 22 h. Cells were then lysed with 100 μlof 1× reporter lysis buffer, and 30 μl of cell extract was used forluciferase and β-Gal assays. A LumiCount™ luminometer (PerkinElmer Lifeand Analytical Sciences) was used to quantitate luciferase and β-Galactivities, and the luciferase activities were normalized to β-Galactivity. Results are expressed as means±S.E. for at least threereplicate determinations for each treatment group

Mammalian Two-Hybrid Assay

SW480 and HT29 cell lines were plated in 12-well plates at 1×10⁵cells/well in DMEM/F-12 media supplemented with 2.5% charcoal-strippedfetal bovine serum. After growth for 16 h, various amounts of DNA, i.e.Gal4Luc (0.4 μg), β-gal (0.04 μg), VP-PPARγ (0.04 μg), pMSRC1 (0.04 μg),pMSRC2 (0.04 μg), pMSRC3 (0.04 μg), pMPGC-1 (0.04 μg), pMDRIP205 (0.04μg), and pMCARM-1 (0.04 μg) were transfected by LipofectAMINE(Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's protocol. After 5 h oftransfection, the transfection mix was replaced with complete mediacontaining either vehicle (DMSO) or the indicated ligand for 20-22 h.Cells were then lysed with 100 ml of 1× reporter lysis buffer, and 30 μlof cell extract was used for luciferase and β-galactosidase assaysLumicount was used to quantitate luciferase and 3-galactosidaseactivities, and the luciferase activities were normalized toβ-galactosidase activity.

Cell Proliferation Assay

SW480 and HT 29 Cells (2×10⁴) were plated in 12-well plates, and mediawere replaced the next day with DMEM/Ham's F-12 media containing 2.5%charcoal-stripped FBS and either vehicle (DMSO) or the indicated ligandand dissolved in DMSO. Fresh media and compounds were added every 48 h.Cells were counted at the indicated times using a Coulter Z1 cellcounter. Each experiment was done in triplicate, and results areexpressed as means±S.E. for each determination

Western Blot Analysis

SW-480 and HT-29 (3×10⁵) cells were seeded in six-well plates inDMEM/Ham's F-12 media containing 2.5% charcoal-stripped FBS for 24 h andthen treated with either the vehicle (DMSO) or the indicated compounds.Whole-cell lysates were obtained using high-salt buffer [50 mM HEPES,500 mM NaCl, 1.5 mM MgCl₂, 1 mM EGTA, 10% glycerol, and 1% Triton X-100,pH 7.5, and 5 μl/ml Protease Inhibitor Cocktail (Sigma-Aldrich)].Protein samples were incubated at 100° C. for 2 min, separated on 10%SDS-PAGE at 120 V for 3 to 4 h in 1× running buffer (25 mM Tris-base,192 mM glycine, and 0.1% SDS, pH 8.3), and transferred to polyvinylidenedifluoride membrane (PVDF; Bio-Rad, Hercules, Calif.) at 0.1 V for 16 hat 4° C. in 1× transfer buffer (48 mM Tris-HCl, 39 mM glycine, and0.025% SDS). The PVDF membrane was blocked in 5% TBST-Blotto (10 mMTris-HCl, 150 mM NaCl, pH 8.0, 0.05% Triton X-100, and 5% nonfat drymilk) with gentle shaking for 30 min and was incubated in fresh 5%TBST-Blotto with 1:1000 (for caveolin-1, p27, p21, cyclin D1, Grp78),1:500 (for KLF4, NAG-1), 1:250 (for PARP), and 1:5000 (for β-actin)primary antibody overnight with gentle shaking at 4° C. After washingwith TBST for 10 min, the PVDF membrane was incubated with secondaryantibody (1:5000) in 5% TBST-Blotto for 90 min. The membrane was washedwith TBST for 10 min, incubated with 10 ml of chemiluminescencesubstrate (PerkinElmer) for 1.0 min, and exposed to Kodak X-OMAT ARautoradiography film (Eastman Kodak, Rochester, N.Y.).

Results

The growth inhibitory effects of β-DODA (Example 1(a)), β-CDODA (Example3(a) and their corresponding methyl ester derivatives (Examples 2(a) and4(a)) were investigated in both HT-29 and SW480 colon cancer cell lines.The IC₅₀ values for β-DODA and β-DODA-Me were 25 and 10 μM respectivelyin SW480 cells and in HT-29 cells, IC₅₀ values were similar (20-30 and5-10 μM) respectively). The 2-cyano substituted analogs were more potentinhibitors of SW480 cell proliferation with IC₅₀ values of 2.5-5.0 and0.2 and 0.5 μM for β-CDODA and β-CDODA-Me respectively. Thecorresponding IC₅₀ values for β-CDODA and β-CDODA-Me in HT-29 cells were1.0 and 0.2 to 0.5 μM respectively indicating that this cell line wasmore sensitive than SW480 cells to the growth inhibitory effects ofβ-CDODA. Previous studies showed that both CDDO and CDDO-Me inducedluciferase activity in SW480 cells transfected with GAL4-PPARγ/GAL4-Luc(22) and the results in FIG. 1 summarize the activation of PPARγ by theGA derivatives of the present invention. β-CDODA-Me (1-5 μM)significantly activated PPARγ with a maximal 18-Fold induction ofluciferase activity, whereas 20-30 μM β-CDODA induced a <4.5 foldincrease in activity and up to 30 μM β-DODA and β-DODA-Me did notenhance transactivation. The fold inducibility of this PPARγ-dependentassay is lower in HT-29 cells however, results in FIG. 2 show that, likeCDDO-Me (22), β-CDODA-Me and β-CDODA induced transactivation in thiscell line transfected with GAL4-PPARγGAL4-Luc whereas the β-DODA andβ-DODA-Me exhibited minimal activity. Using a similar transactivationsystem in the more responsive SW480 cells, the induction of luciferaseactivity by 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 β-CDODA-Me and 10, 20 and 30 μM β-CDODA wasinhibited after cotreatment with the PPARγ antagonist T007 (FIG. 3). Itwas also shown that both β-CDODA-Me and β-CDODA induced transactivationin SW480 cells transfected with PPRE₃-Luc and these responses wereinhibited after cotreatment with the PPARγ antagonists T007 and GW9662(FIG. 4). These results demonstrate that both β-CDODA and β-CDODA-Me butnot DODA or DODA-Me activate PPARγ and this illustrates the beneficialeffect of the 2-substituent (for example a 2-cyano substituent) for boththe growth inhibition and PPARγ-dependent activities in these synthetictriterpenes. The effects of β-CDODA-Me on interactions between PPARγ andseveral coactivators/corepressors in a mammalian two-hybrid assay inSW480 cells transfected with GAL4-coactivator and VP-PPARγ (ligandbinding domain) chimeras were also investigated. The results (FIG. 5)show that β-CDODA-Me induced transactivation only in cells transfectedwith GAL4-chimeras containing coactivators PGC-1 and SRC-1 whereasligand-induced interactions of SRC-2, SRC-3, CARM1, TRAP220 and SMRTwith PPARγ were not observed. These results clearly distinguishβ-CDODA-Me from CDDO-Me since the latter compound induced interactionsbetween VP-PPARγ and GAL4-coactivator/corepressor chimeras containingSRC1, SRC2, SRC3, PGC1, TRAP220, CARM1 and SMRT in the same cell line(22).

The effects of β-CDODA-Me on various proteins associated with cellproliferation and apoptosis were also investigated in SW480 cells over arange of concentrations from 0.5-5.0 μM (FIG. 6). The pattern of proteinexpression was concentration-dependent as previously reported forCDDO-Me where PARP cleavage, an indicator of apoptosis, was onlyobserved at higher concentrations (2.5 and 5.0 μM) and this was similarto the overall effects of β-CDODA-Me on SW480 cell proliferation. CyclinD1 and p21 protein expression were unchanged after treatment with 0.5 or1 μM β-CDODA-Me whereas expression of both proteins was decreased at thehigher (2.5 and 5.0 μM) doses. In contrast, there was a dose-dependentincrease of p27 protein over full range of concentrations whereasinduction of GRP78 protein, an indicator of ER stress, was not observed.NAG-1, a tumor suppressor gene induced by some PPARγ agonist in coloncancer cells (23, 28-30) was not induced by β-CDODA-Me in SW480 cells.In addition the induction of the tumor suppressor gene KLF4 by 0.5-7.5μM β-CDODA-Me was observed (FIG. 6). In a separate experiment at higherdoses of β-CDODA (10-40 μM), PARP cleavage and induction of KLF4, whichis only induced at concentrations greater than 10-20 μM, was observed(FIG. 7). Thus both β-CDODA and β-CDODA-Me induce KLF4 however thelatter compound was clearly the more potent analog and was used insubsequent studies as the prototype for this class of PPARγ-activetriterpenoids.

Previous studies showed that CDDO-Me and related compounds and otherPPARγ agonists induced caveolin-1 in HT-29 and SW480 colon cancer cells(22). Caveolin-1 acts as a tumor suppressor gene in colon cancer cellsand inhibits cell/tumor (in vivo) growth (76, 77). Caveolin-1 is onlyinduced in colon cancer cells after prolonged treatment with PPARγagonists and the results in FIG. 8 show that although both CDDO/CDDO-Meinduce caveolin-1 protein after treatment for 3 days, β-CDODA-Me did notaffect expression of caveolin-1 in SW480 cells. This was observed overseveral replicate experiments and clearly distinguished β-CDODA-Me fromCDDO/CDDO-Me in SW480 cells.

The effects of β-CDODA-Me on apoptosis and induction of caveolin-1,NAG-1 and KLF4 was also investigated in HT-29 cells. The results (FIG.9) show that after treatment with β-CDODA-Me for 24 hours there wasinduction of PARP cleavage which was accompanied by induction of NAG-1and KLF4 proteins. It should be noted that induction of these tumorsuppressor genes was concentration dependent and NAG-1 protein levelswere decreased at higher (5 μM) concentrations. Moreover, treatment ofHT-29 cells with β-CDODA-Me for 3 days also resulted in induction ofcaveolin-1. These results show that cell context was also an importantfactor in the activity of β-CDODA-Me where caveolin-1 was induced inHT-29 but not in SW480 colon cancer cells.

KLF4 is induced by β-CDODA-Me in both SW480 and HT-29 cells and a recentstudy reported that the PPARγ agonist 15-deoxy-412, 14-Prostaglandin J2(PGJ2) also induced KLF4 in HT-29. However induction of KLF4 by PGJ2 wasPPARγ-independent and involved activation of mitogen-activated proteinkinase (MAPK) (22). Results in FIGS. 10 and 11 show that treatment withβ-CDODA-Me induces KLF-4 protein in SW480 and HT-29 cells andcotreatment with the PPARγ antagonist T007 blocks this inductionresponse in both cell lines. In contrast, T007 does not affectβ-CDODA-Me induced down regulation of cyclin D1, p27 or PARP cleavage inSW480 cells (FIG. 10) and the PPARγ-independent induction of apoptosisin SW480 cells has previously been reported for CDDO-Me in the same cellline (22). Result in FIG. 12 show that induction of NAG-1 and PARPcleavage in HT-29 cells was not affected after cotreatment with T007whereas the induction of caveolin-1 by β-CDODA-Me was inhibited aftercotreatment with T007 (FIG. 13). These results demonstrate thatβ-CDODA-Me like CDDO/CDDO-Me induces both receptor-dependent andindependent growth inhibitory/apoptotic effects in colon cancer cells(22), however, despite their structural similarities these compoundsinduce both different and overlapping responses that are cellcontext-dependent and this is characteristic of selective PPARγmodulators.

Discussion

PPARγ and other members of the nuclear receptor superfamily arecharacterized by their modular structure which contains several regionsand domains that are required for critical receptor-protein andreceptor-DNA interactions (78-79). Nuclear receptors typically containN- and C-terminal activation functions (AF1 and AF2 respectively), a DNAbinding domain and a flexible hinge region. The addition of receptorligand usually results in formation of a transcriptionally activenuclear receptor complex which binds cognate response elements inpromoter regions of target genes and activates transcription. However,receptor-mediated transactivation is dependent on several factorsincluding cell context-specific expression of coregulatory proteins (eg.coactivators), gene promoter accessibility and ligand structure (80).The complex pharmacology of receptor ligands is due, in part to theirstructure-dependent conformational changes in the bound receptor complexwhich may differentially interact with coregulatory factors and exhibittissue-specific agonist and/or antagonist activity (80, 81). This hasled to development of selective receptor modulators (SRMs) for severalnuclear receptors which can selectively activate or block specificreceptor-mediated responses.

There is evidence that different structural classes of PPARγ agonistsare also SRMs and induce tissue-specific receptor-dependent andindependent responses. For example induction of NAG-1 in HCT116 coloncancer cells by PGJ2 was PPARγ-dependent whereas both troglitazone andPPARγ-active 1,1-bis(3′-indolyl)-1-(p-substituted phenyl) methanes(C-DIMs) also enhanced NAG-1 expression through receptor-independentpathways in the same cell line (22, 82, 83). Differences between PGJ2and rosiglitazone have also been observed in mammalian two hybrid assaysin COS-1 cells transfected with VP-PPARγ and GAL4-coactivator chimerasand in colon cancer cells rosiglitazone and PPARγ-active C-DIMs alsoinduced a different pattern of receptor-coactivator interactions (84,85). Previous studies have demonstrated that the synthetic triterpenoidsCDDO and CDDO-Me are potent anticancer drugs in multiple cell lines andthese compounds act through PPARγ-dependent and independent pathways(20-22, 86-88). Moreover in SW480 and other colon cancer cell lines thereceptor-dependent (caveolin-1 induction) and receptor independent(apoptosis) responses induced by CDDO and CDDO-Me wereconcentration-dependent and were observed at low and high dosesrespectively. In the present disclosure, the activity of β-CDODA andβ-CDODA-Me, two synthetic compounds derived from glycyrrhetinic acids isreported. Although CDDO/CDDO-Me and β-CDODA/β-CDODA-Me are isomers whichpossess a pentacyclic oleanolane backbone, there are significantstructural differences between the two sets of compounds. In β-CDODA andβ-CDODA-Me the carboxyl substituent is at C-20 instead of C-17 forCDDO/CDDO-Me, the stereochemistry of the E-D ring fusion at C-18 and theα,β-unsaturated ketone moieties in the C-ring are also different in theGA derivatives compared to CDDO. Initial studies showed that β-CDODA andβ-CDODA-Me inhibited growth of SW480 and HT-29 colon cancer cells and itwas apparent that the addition of a substituent at the 2 position (forexample a 2-cyano group) enhanced their growth inhibitory effectscompared to their des-cyano analogs β-DODA and β-DODA-Me and this wasmore pronounced for β-CDODA-Me compared to β-CDODA. Like CDDO/CDDO-Me,both β-CDODA and β-CDOODA-Me also activated PPARγ in transactivationassays and the magnitude of the induction response by β-CDODA-Me andCDDO-Me were similar. CDDO-Me was active at lower doses than β-CDODA-Mein both the growth inhibition and transactivation assays in SW480 cells.β-CDODA was less potent than either β-CDODA-Me or CDDO in these sameassays and therefore was primarily used for further studies.

β-CDODA-Me decreased SW480 and HT-29 cell growth and inducedPPARγ-independent PARP cleavage in both cell lines. β-CDODA-Me was lesspotent than CDDO-Me in SW480 cells (22) nevertheless, the newlysynthesized GA derivative was a potent anticancer agent in colon cancercells with effects on cell survival and apoptosis in the higher nM andlower μM range. β-CDODA-Me induced the tumor suppressor gene KLF4 inboth SW480 and HT-29 cells and this response was PPARγ-dependent andinhibited by T007. These results clearly distinguish between β-CDODA-Meand PGD2 which also induced KLF4 in HT29 cells through areceptor-independent pathway (89). Differences between β-CDODA-Me andCDDO-Me in were observed SW480 cells. CDDO-Me but not β-CDODA-Me inducescaveolin-1 in SW480 cells (22) (FIG. 8) whereas both compounds inducecaveolin-1 in HT-29 cells (22) (FIG. 13) and induction of caveolin-1 wasinhibited by GW9662. Thus differences between β-CDODA-Me and CDDO-Me inactivation of caveolin-1 protein expression were also dependent on cellcontext. These results are consistent with the structural differencesbetween the two set of PPARγ agonists derived from oleanolic acid and GAand also correlated with their effects on VP-PPARγ-GAL4-coactivatorinteractions in a mammalian two hybrid assay (FIG. 5). β-CDODA-Meinduces interactions of PPARγ only with SRC-1 and PGC-1 whereas CDDO-Meinduces interactions with all the coactivators shown in FIG. 5 (22).Thus results of this study demonstrate that CDODA-Me represents a newclass of selective PPARγ modulators that induces both PPARγ-dependentand independent responses in colon cancer cells. A previous reportshowed that KLF4 expression in colon cancer cells was regulated by overexpression of the adenomatous polyposis coli gene and by the tumorsuppressor homeodomain protein CDX2 (42). Moreover, APC also enhancedCDX2 expression suggesting an APC-CDX2-KLF4 sequence for activation ofKLF4. In the present study, it has now been demonstrated that KLF4expression is also enhanced by β-CDODA-Me through a PPARγ-dependentpathway.

Example 8 Effects of Compounds of the Invention on Pancreatic Cell Lines

The cytotoxicity α- and β-CDODA-Me isomers (Examples 4(b) and 4(a),respectively) pancreatic cancer cells was also investigated. FIG. 14illustrates the growth inhibitory effects of α- and β-CDODA-Me in Panc28pancreatic cancer cells, alongside SW580 colon cancer cells forreference. The IC₅₀ values for α- and β-CDODA-Me were 0.5 and 0.2-0.5μM, respectively, in SW480 cells and 0.5-1.0 and 1-2.5 μM in Panc28pancreatic cancer cells. In contrast, the corresponding α-CDODA andβ-CDODA (Examples 3(b) and 3(a), respectively) and analogs that do notcontain cyano groups were 4-20 times less toxic than the α- andβ-CDODA-Me isomers. These data, coupled with ongoing studies in othercancer cell lines demonstrate that IC₅₀ values vary from the high nM tolow μM concentrations.

Example 9 Effects of Compounds of the Invention on Sp ProteinDegradation

Sp proteins such as Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 are highly expressed in cancercells, and Sp1 is overexpressed in multiple tumors compared to non-tumortissue. Research has demonstrated by RNA interference experiments usingsmall interfering RNAs for Sp1 (iSp1), Sp3 (iSp3) and Sp4 (iSp4) thatthese proteins are required for cell cycle progression, angiogenesis andsurvival (72, 67). Subsequent studies have identified the COX-2inhibitors celecoxib, tolfenamic acid and structurally related NSAIDs,and the naturally occurring anticancer drug betulinic acid as agentsthat act through degradation of Sp proteins. For example, betulinic acidactivates Sp protein degradation in prostate cancer cells and tumors andthis is accompanied by decreased Sp-dependent expression of survivin(antiapoptotic), VEGF (angiogenic) and cell cycle genes. In otherstudies, it has been shown that VEGF receptor 1 (VEGFR1) and VEGFR2expression is Sp-dependent and chemical-induced downregulation of Spproteins results in decreased VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 levels in cancer cells.It is shown here that part of the underlying mechanism of action ofβ-CDODA-Me is also due to Sp protein degradation. Results in FIG. 15show that after treatment of Panc28 cells with β-CDODA-Me, there was aconcentration-dependent decrease in Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 protein expressionin Panc28 cells, and this was accompanied by a parallel decrease in VEGFexpression and induction of caspase-dependent apoptosis (PARP cleavage)(FIG. 16). β-CDODA-Me-dependent effects on Sp protein expression inPanc28 cells were not blocked by PPARγ antagonists (FIG. 15A) or theproteasome inhibitor lactacystin (FIG. 15B). Betulinic acid inducesproteasome-dependent degradation of Sp protein in prostate cancercells/tumors; however, it was evident in these studies that in Panc28cells, the effects of β-CDODA-Me on Sp proteins wereproteasome-independent.

The effects of β-CDODA-Me on Sp protein levels in RKO cells (FIG. 17)and the results were similar to those observed in Panc28 cells.β-CDODA-Me decreased Sp protein expression in these cells and this wasaccompanied by decreased VEGF protein expression. These results confirmthat β-CDODA-Me also induces Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 protein loss in both colonand pancreatic cancer cells and thereby exhibits activity similar tothat reported for betulunic acid and tolfenamic acid. However, in bothRKO and Panc28 cells, Sp protein expression was decreased throughproteasome-independent pathways. Therefore, one of the mechanisms bywhich the compounds of the present invention inhibit cancer cell andtumor growth is through Sp protein expression, resulting in growthinhibition, decreased cell survival, and induction of antiangiogenicpathways through targeting Sp-dependent gene expression.

Example 9 Effects of the Compounds of the Invention on Prostate CancerCell Lines Materials and Methods

Cell lines: LNCaP human prostate carcinoma cells were obtained fromAmerican Type Culture Collection (Manassas, Va.). Fetal bovine serum wasobtained from JRH Biosciences, Lenexa, Kans. LNCaP cells were maintainedin RPMI 1640 (Sigma Chemical, St. Louis, Mo.) supplemented with 0.22%sodium bicarbonate, 0.011% sodium pyruvate, 0.45% glucose, 0.24% HEPES,10% FBS, and 10 mL/L of 100× antibiotic/antimycotic solution (Sigma).Cells were maintained at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂.

Antibodies and Reagents: Antibodies for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase,cyclin D1, p27, FKBP51, AR, ATF3, Akt and caveolin-1 were purchased fromSanta Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. (Santa Cruz, Calif.). PSA was obtainedfrom Dako Denmark A/S (Glostrup, Denmark); NAG-1 was purchased fromUpstate Biotechnology (Charlottesville, Va.); and EGR-1, pAKT, pERK,ERK, pJNK, JNK were obtained from Cell Signaling Technology Inc.(Danvers, Mass.). Monoclonal β-actin antibody and dihydrotesterone werepurchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Reporter lysis buffer and luciferasereagent for luciferase studies were purchased from Promega (Madison,Wis.). β-Galactosidase (β-Gal) reagent was obtained from Tropix(Bedford, Mass.), and lipofectamine reagents were supplied by Invitrogen(Carlsbad, Calif.). Western Lightning chemiluminescence reagents werefrom Perkin-Elmer Life Sciences (Boston, Mass.). The PPARγ antagonistN-(4′-aminopyridyl)-2-chloro-5-nitrobenzamide (T007) was prepared inthis laboratory and the synthesis of the GA derivatives has previouslydescribed (90).

Cell Proliferation and DNA Fragmentation Assays: LNCaP prostate cancercells (2×10⁴ per well) were added to 12-well plates and allowed toattach for 24 hr. The medium was then changed to DMEM/Ham's F-12 mediacontaining 2.5% charcoal-stripped FBS, and either vehicle (DMSO) or theindicated C-DIMs were added. Fresh medium and indicated compounds wereadded every 48 hr, and cells were then trypsinized and counted after 2,4, and 6 days using a Coulter Z1 cell counter (Beckman Coulter,Fullerton, Calif.). Each experiment was done in triplicate, and resultsare expressed as means±S.E. for each set of three experiments. The DNAfragmentation assay was performed using a BioVision Apoptotic DNA ladderextraction kit (BioVision, Mountain View, Calif.) according to themanufacturer's protocol.

Transfections: The Gal4 reporter construct containing 5× Gal4 responseelements (pGal4) was kindly provided by Dr. Marty Mayo (University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.). The Gal4 DBD-PPARγ construct was agift of Dr. Jennifer L. Oberfield (Glaxo Wellcome Research andDevelopment, Research Triangle Park, N.C.). The PPRE-luc constructcontains three tandem PPREs with a minimal TATA sequence linked to theluciferase gene in pGL2. The AR-luc construct containing the −5400 to+580 region of the androgen receptor promoter was provided by Dr. DonaldJ. Tindall (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.), and the PSA-luc constructcontaining the 5.8-kilobase region of the PSA promoter was provided byDr. Hong-Wu Cheng (University of California, Davis, Calif.). LNCaP cells(1×10⁵) were seeded in 12-well plates in DMEM/Ham's F-12 mediasupplemented with 2.5% charcoal-stripped FBS and grown overnight.Transient transfections were performed using Lipofectamine reagent(Invitrogen) according to the protocol provided by the manufacturer.Transfection studies were performed using 0.4 μg of Gal4Luc, 0.04 μg ofβ-galactosidase, 0.04 μg of Gal4 DBD-PPARγ, 0.4 μg of AR-luc, and 0.3 μgof PSA-luc. Six hr after transfection, the transfection mix was replacedwith complete media containing either vehicle (DMSO) or the indicatedligand for 20 to 22 hr. Cells were then lysed with 100 μl of 1× reporterlysis buffer, and 30 μl of cell extract was used for luciferase andβ-galactosidase assays. A Lumicount luminometer (PerkinElmer Life andAnalytical Sciences) was used to quantify luciferase and β-galactosidaseactivities, and the luciferase activities were normalized toβ-galactosidase activity.

Real-Time PCR: Total RNA was isolated using the RNeasy Protect Mini kit(QIAGEN, Valencia, Calif.) according to the manufacturer's protocol. RNAwas eluted with 30 μl of RNasefree water and stored at −80° C. RNA wasreverse transcribed using Superscript II reverse transcriptase(Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's protocol. cDNA was preparedfrom the LNCaP cell line using a combination of oligodeoxythymidylicacid and dNTP mix (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) andSuperscript II (Invitrogen). Each PCR was carried out in triplicate in a25-μl volume using SYBR Green Master mix (Applied Biosystems) for 15 minat 95° C. for initial denaturing, followed by 40 cycles of 95° C. for 30s and 60° C. for 1 min in the ABI Prism 7700 sequence detection system(Applied Biosystems). The ABI Dissociation Curves software was usedafter a brief thermal protocol (95° C. 15 s and 60° C. 20 s, followed bya slow ramp to 95° C.) to control for multiple species in each PCRamplification. The comparative CT method was used for relativequantitation of samples. Values for each gene were normalized toexpression levels of TATA-binding protein. Primers were purchased fromIntegrated DNA Technologies (Coralville, Iowa). The sequences of theprimers used for reverse transcription-PCR were as follows: AR forward,5′-GTA CCC TGG CGG CAT GGT-3′ [SEQ ID NO: 1] and AR reverse, 5′-CCC ATTTCG CTT TTG ACA CA-3′ [SEQ ID NO: 2]; PSA forward, 5′-GCA TTG AAC CAGAGG AGT TCT TG-3′ [SEQ ID NO: 3] and PSA reverse, 5′-TTG CGC ACA CAC GTCATT G-3′ [SEQ ID NO: 4]; and TATA-binding protein forward, 5′-TGC ACAGGA GCC AAG AGT GAA-3′ [SEQ ID NO: 5] and reverse, 5′-CAC ATC ACA GCTCCC CAC CA-3′ [SEQ ID NO: 6].

Western Blot Analysis: Cells were seeded in DMEM:Ham's F-12 mediacontaining 2.5% charcoal-stripped FBS for 24 hr and then treated witheither the vehicle (DMSO) or the indicated compounds. Cells werecollected by scraping in 150 μl high salt lysis buffer (50 mM HEPES, 0.5M NaCl, 1.5 mM MgCl₂, 1 mM EGTA, 10% (v/v) glycerol, 1% (v/v)Triton-X-100 and 5 μL/ml of Protease Inhibitor Cocktail (Sigma). Thelysates were incubated on ice for 1 hr with intermittent vortexingfollowed by centrifugation at 20,000 g for 10 min at 4° C. Beforeelectrophoresis, samples were boiled for 3 min at 100° C.; the amount ofprotein was determined and 60 μg protein applied per lane. Samples weresubjected to SDS-PAGE on 10% gel at 120 V for 3 to 4 hr. Proteins weretransferred on to polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (PVDF; Bio-Rad,Hercules, Calif.) at 0.9 amp for 90 min at 4° C. in 1× transfer buffer(48 mM Tris-HCl, 39 mM glycine, and 0.025% SDS). The membranes wereblocked for 30 mM with 5% TBST-Blotto (10 mM Tris-HCl, 150 mM NaCl (pH8.0), 0.05% Triton X-100 and 5% non-fat dry milk) and incubated in fresh5% TBST-Blotto with primary antibody overnight with gentle shaking at 4°C. After washing with TBST for 10 min, the PVDF membrane was incubatedwith secondary antibody (1:5000) in 5% TBST-Blotto for 2-3 hr. Themembrane was washed with TBST for 10 min and incubated with 10 ml ofchemiluminiscence substrate (PerkinElmer Life Sciences) for 1.0 min andexposed to ImageTeK-H medical imaging film (Eastman American X-raySupply, Inc.).

Statistical Analysis: Statistical differences between different groupswere determined by ANOVA and Scheffe's test for significance. The dataare presented as mean±S.E. for at least three separate determinationsfor each treatment group. Results

a) Cell Proliferation and Activation of PPARγ

β-DODA (Example 1(a)) exhibited minimal inhibition of LNCaP cell growthwith a IC₅₀ value >15 μM whereas the IC₅₀ for the corresponding methylester derivative (Example 2a) was between 10-15 μM (FIG. 18A).Introduction of a 2-cyano group to give β-CDODA-Me (Example 4(a))increased the cytotoxicity by at least an order of magnitude and theIC₅₀ was approximately 1 μM in LNCaP cells (FIG. 18A). These resultswere similar to those observed in colon cancer cells (Example 7) anddemonstrate the importance of 2-substitution in mediating thecytotoxicity of GA derivatives. The induction of PPARγ-dependenttransactivation by β-CDODA-Me was also investigated in LNCaP cellstransfected with PPARγ-GAL4/GAL4-Luc or PPRE₃-Luc constructs and treatedwith 1-5 μM concentrations. β-CDODA-Me significantly induced luciferaseactivity (FIG. 18B) and in cells cotreated with β-CDODA-Me plus 10 μMT007 (a PPARγ antagonist), there was significant inhibition of inducedtransactivation. In contrast, β-DODA-Me and β-I-DODA-Me (Example 5) didnot activate PPARγ. PPARγ agonists typically modulate expression of oneor more of the cell cycle proteins p27, p21 and cyclin D1, and FIG. 18Cillustrates the effects of 1-5 μM β-CDODA-Me on expression of theseproteins in LNCaP cells. There was a concentration-dependent inductionof p27 and p21 and a decrease in cyclin D1 proteins and Rbphosphorylation in cells treated with β-CDODA-Me alone, and similarresults were observed in cells cotreated with the PPARγ antagonist T007and β-CDODA-Me (FIG. 18D) suggesting that these responses werePPARγ-independent.

b) Induction of Proapoptotic Responses by β-CDODA-Me.

NAG-1 and ATF-3 are proapoptotic proteins induced by PPARγ agonists andresults in FIG. 19 show that 1-5 μM β-CDODA-Me induced NAG-1 and ATF-3which are often co-induced and this was accompanied by caspase-dependentPARP cleavage, DNA fragmentation, and decreased bcl2 expression in LNCaPcells. In LNCaP cells cotreated with β-CDODA-Me plus T007 (FIG. 19B),the induced responses were not inhibited by the PPARγ antagonistindicating that induction of these proapototic responses wasreceptor-independent. Previous studies show that different structuralclasses of PPARγ agonists downregulate AR expression in LNCaP cells andthis response can also result in activation of apoptosis (91, 92). FIG.19C summarizes the effects of β-CDODA-Me on AR expression in thepresence or absence of 10 nM DHT and also on the expression of FKBP51and PSA, two androgen-responsive genes in LNCaP cells. DHT increasesexpression of AR due to stabilization of the receptor and also inducesboth androgen-responsive FKBP51 and PSA genes and, in cells treated with1-5 μM β-CDODA-Me, there was a concentration-dependent decrease in AR,PSA and FKBP51 expression in the presence or absence of DHT. Inaddition, downregulation of AR, PSA and FKBP51 proteins in LNCaP cellstreated with β-CDODA-Me was not affected by cotreatment with the PPARγantagonist T007 (FIG. 19D) or the proteasome inhibitor MG132 (FIG. 19E).In contrast, β-CDODA-Me-dependent degradation of cyclin D1 was inhibitedafter cotreatment with MG132 and these observations are similar to thosereported for other PPARγ agonists that induce proteasome-dependentdegradation of cyclin D1 (22, 94-96). These results clearly show thatβ-CDODA-Me decreases expression of androgen-responsive genes and ARthrough PPARγ-independent pathways. The downregulation of AR in cellstreated with β-CDODA-Me is consistent with the induction of apoptosis bythis compound since decreased AR expression by small inhibitory RNAs inLNCaP cells also induces apoptosis (93).

c) β-CDODA-Me Induces Kinase-Dependent Activation of Proapoptotic/GrowthInhibitory Pathways

Previous studies show that NAG-1 is induced by some PPARγ agonists andother cytotoxic compounds in colon cancer cells (94, 97, 98-100) throughPI3K-dependent activation of EGR-1 which acts as a trans-acting factorto induce NAG-1 expression. FIG. 20A summarizes the time-dependentinduction of EGR-1, ATF-3 and NAG-1 by 2.5 μM β-CDODA-Me and theinduction responses followed a similar time course, whereas EGR-1dependent induction of NAG-1 in colon cancer cells is associated withthe increased expression of EGR-1 prior to induction of NAG-1 (94, 100).Previous studies show that NAG-1 induction is kinase-dependent (94,100), and results in FIG. 20B show that 2.5 μM β-CDODA-Me inducesactivation of the JNK PI3K (p-Akt) and MAPK (p-Erk) pathways. Maximalactivation of JNK and PI3K was observed after 8 and 8-12 hr,respectively, whereas p-Erk activation remained elevated for 24 hr. Theeffects of inhibitors of MAPK (PD98059), PI3K (LY294002), protein kinaseC (GF109203X) and JNK (SP600125) on induction of NAG-1 and ATF3 anddecreased expression of AR, PSA and FKBP51 was also investigated inLNCaP cells treated with 2.5 μM β-CDODA-Me (FIG. 20C). Both PD98059 andLY294002 inhibited induction of NAG-1 by β-CDODA-Me. These inhibitorsalso blocked induction of ATF-3; however, the JNK inhibitor SP600125 wasthe most potent inhibitor of ATF-3 induction (FIGS. 20C and 20D). Incontrast, decreased expression of AR, PSA and FKBP51 in LNCaP cellstreated with β-CDODA-Me was unaffected by kinase inhibitors.

While not wishing to be limited by theory, these results suggest thatthe underlying pathways associated with the growthinhibitory/proapoptotic pathways induced by β-CDODA-Me in LNCaP cellsare due in part to activation of kinases. Therefore, the effects ofkinase inhibitors on modulation of cell cycle proteins by β-CDODA-Mewere also investigated and the downregulation of cyclin D1 and inductionof p21 were partially blocked in cells cotreated with the MAPK inhibitorPD98059 (FIG. 21A), and MAPK-dependent activation of p21 has previouslybeen observed in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines treated with TPA(101). Results in FIG. 21B show that the 1-5 μM β-CDODA-Me also inducesluciferase activity in LNCaP cells transfected with constructscontaining −2325 to +8 [p21-Luc (F1)], −124 to +8 [p21-Luc (−124)], −101to +8 [p21-Luc (−101)], and −60 to +8 [p21-Luc (−60)] p21 promoterinserts. The latter 3 constructs contain the 6 proximal GC rich site(VI-I) and the results of the transfection studies suggest that theseGC-rich sites are necessary for β-CDODA-Me-induced transactivation.Deletion analysis of the p21 promoter indicates that loss ofinducibility [i.e. p21-luc(60)] is associated with loss of GC-rich sitesIV and III which are essential for MAPK-dependent activation of p21 byβ-CDODA-Me. The role of MAPK in activation of the p21 promoter wasconfirmed in LNCaP cells transfected with p21-luc(101); β-CDODA-Meinduced luciferase activity and cotreatment with the MAPK inhibitorPD98059 inhibited this response (FIG. 21C). These results show that theinduction of p21 and the proapototic NAG-1 protein by β-CDODA-Me wererelated to the activation of MAPK and PI3K but were independent of PPARγ(FIGS. 18D and 19B).

d) β-CDODA-Me Differentially Decreases AR and PSA Gene Expression inLNCaP Cells.

β-CDODA-Me decreases expression of AR, PSA and FKBP51 protein levelsthrough proteasome and PPARγ-independent pathways (FIGS. 19C-19E) andthese responses are also not modulated by kinase inhibitors (FIG. 20B).The results in FIG. 22A show that β-CDODA-Me also decreases AR mRNAlevels after treatment for 12 and 18 hr, and cotreatment with the PPARγantagonist T007 did not affect mRNA levels confirming theβ-CDODA-Me-induced downregulation of AR mRNA levels was alsoPPARγ-independent. Similar results were obtained in LNCaP cells treatedwith β-CDODA-Me alone or in the presence of the protein synthesisinhibitor cycloheximide (10 μg/ml) (FIG. 22B); cycloheximide did notmodulate the effects of β-CDODA-Me, suggesting that an inducedinhibitory protein(s) does not mediate the effects of β-CDODA-Me on ARmRNA expression. β-CDODA-Me also decreased luciferase activity in LNCaPcells transfected with the AR-Luc construct that contains the −5400 to+580 region of the AR promoter linked to the luciferase genes (FIG.22C). The results indicate that β-CDODA-Me inhibits AR transcriptionwithout the parallel induction of inhibitory trans-acting factors.Recent studies suggest that AR downregulation of a PPARγ-inactivethiazolidinedione analog was due to downregulation of Sp protein (102).Results in FIG. 22D show that β-CDODA-Me induces a time-dependentinduction of PARP cleavage and a decrease of both AR and Sp1, suggestingthat decreased expression of AR may be Sp1-dependent as previouslyreported (102)

PSA protein expression is also decreased in LNCaP cells treated withβ-CDODA-Me (FIG. 19C) and similar effects were observed for PSA mRNAlevels after treatment for 12 or 18 hr, and these responses were notinhibited after cotreatment with the PPARγ antagonist T007 (FIG. 23A).However, β-CDODA-Me-induced downregulation of PSA mRNA levels aftertreatment for 12 or 18 hr was significantly inhibited after cotreatmentwith cycloheximide (FIG. 23B). In addition, β-CDODA-Me inhibitedtransactivation in LNCaP cells transfected with the PSA-Luc construct(contains 5.85 kb of the PSA promoter insert) (FIG. 23C) and similarresults were obtained for DHT-induced luciferase activity (FIG. 23D).Thus, in contrast to results obtained for AR, β-CDODA-Me inhibits PSAexpression through induction of inhibitory trans-acting factors.

Discussion

In this example, the growth inhibitory and proapoptotic effects ofβ-CDODA-Me in LNCaP cells and the role of PPARγ in mediating theseresponses was investigated. β-CDODA-Me was a more potent inhibitor ofLNCaP cell growth than analogs (β-DODA and β-DODA-Me) that did notcontain a 2-substituent Moreover, β-CDODA-Me also activatedPPARγ-dependent transactivation in transient transfection studies inLNCaP cells, and compounds without the 2-substituent were inactive asreported above for these analogs in colon cancer cells. β-CDODA-Meinduced p27 expression and downregulated levels of cyclin D1 protein.β-CDODA-Me induced p21 protein in LNCaP cells and this response was notinhibited after cotreatment with PPARγ antagonist T007. β-CDODA-Meinduction of p21 in LNCaP cells was due to activation of MAPK signalingwhich was required for induction of p21 protein and activation of thep21 promoter. This is a novel pathway for induction of p21 in LNCaPcells; however, previous studies in other cell lines also demonstratedMAPK-dependent induction of p21 expression (101, 103, 104).

NAG-1 and ATF3 are growth inhibitory and proapoptotic proteins (48, 49),and previous studies with PPARγ agonists report both receptor-dependentand -independent induction of NAG-1 (22, 94, 98, 99). Induction of NAG-1and ATF3 by β-CDODA-Me in LNCaP cells was also PPARγ-independent.However, both PI3K and MAPK inhibitors blocked induction of NAG-1 andATF-3; however, the JNK inhibitor SP600125 was the most potent inhibitorof ATF-3 (but not NAG-1) induction and this is consistent with previousstudies showing that homocysteine also induces ATF3 in vascular cellsthrough activation of JNK which activates c-jun and ATF-3 through anAP-1 site in the promoter (105). The kinase-dependent induction of NAG-1has previously been reported and these effects are both structure andcell context-dependent. In the present study, the time-dependentinduction of both EGR-1 and NAG-1 are similar in LNCaP cells, andinhibition of NAG-1 expression is observed with both PI3K and MAPKinhibitors.

Two recent reports show that in LNCaP cells AR knockdown by RNAinterference results in apoptosis (93) and stable knockdown using shorthairpin RNAs for AR results in decreased AR and PSA expression andinhibition of tumor growth in vivo (106). β-CDODA-Me decreases AR andPSA expression in LNCaP cells over a narrow range of concentrations(1-2.5 μM). Moreover, cycloheximide reversed the β-CDODA-Me-dependentdownregulation of PSA but not AR mRNA levels. A recent report indicatedthat decreased AR expression in LNCaP cells treated with aPPARγ-inactive thiazolidinedione derivative was due toproteasome-dependent degradation of Sp1 (102) and the present resultsalso show a parallel decrease in AR and Sp1 in LNCaP cells treated withβ-CDODA-Me. However, in contrast to the previous report, this effect onAR was not reversed by a proteasome inhibitor. Moreover, results in FIG.22D also show that 2.5 μM β-CDODA-Me rapidly induces PARP cleavage andapoptosis in LNCaP cells prior to decreased AR expression demonstratingthat apoptotic pathways other than loss of AR are activated byβ-CDODA-Me in LNCaP cells.

Results of the present study demonstrate that 2-substituted 1,2-dehydro3-oxo GA analogs are potent inhibitors of LNCaP cell growth and inducesproapoptotic responses through activation of kinases or affectingexpression of other genes including NAG-1, ATF-3, AR and PSA.β-CDODA-Me's proapoptotic and growth inhibitory effects werePPARγ-independent.

Example 10 In Vivo Models

The compounds of the present invention decrease expression of Sp1, Sp3and Sp3 in colon and pancreatic cancer cells. This correlates with thecytotoxicity, antiangiogenic and proapoptotic effects of these agents.Moreover, β-CDODA-Me is also a PPARγ agonist and at least in HCT-15colon cancer cells, there is evidence that activation of this pathway isimportant for the observed anticancer activity. Therefore, the compoundsof the present invention appear to inhibit growth of colon, pancreaticand prostate tumor growth through activation of PPARγ and/or degradationof Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 in tumors. The anticancer activity and the tumor andtissue/cell specificity of Sp protein knockdown of the compounds of theinvention can be further demonstrated in animal models.

The experimental design utilizes the athymic nude mouse xenograft andorthotopic models for prostate, colon and pancreatic cancer, the Minmouse model for colon cancer and the TRAMP model for prostate cancer.SW480, RKO, Panc1, PC3 and LNCaP cancer cells (xenograft) and L3.6p1pancreatic cancer cells (xenograft and orthotopic) are used in athymicnude mice and the antitumorigenic effects of the compounds of theinvention are investigated. The Min mouse model for colon cancer and theTRAMP model for prostate cancer are used to assay the effects of thecompounds of the invention on tumor formation and growth and thedetermination of selected proapoptotic/antiangiogenic markers arecompared to those investigated in the xenografts/orthotopic experiments.

(a) Xenograph and Orthotopic Tumor Studies for Colon and PancreaticCancer

(i) Animal treatment: Male athymic nude mice are obtained fromcommercial sources and their use approved by the Institutional AnimalCare and Use Committee. The mice are housed under specific conditionsand in facilities approved by the American Association for Accreditationof Laboratory Animal Care at LARR facilities in College Station, Tex.,and the corresponding facilities at IBT in Houston, Tex. Ten animals areused for each treatment group. SW480, RKO and Panc1 cells are used inthe xenograft study and L3.6p1 pancreatic cancer cells are used in theorthotopic model as previously described (66, 67). Cells are harvestedby exposure to trypsin and resuspended in serum-free Hanks' balancedsalt solution (HBSS). Viability is assessed by trypan blue exclusion,and only single-cell suspensions exhibiting greater than 95% viabilityare used. For subcutaneous tumors, tumor cells (1×10⁶ cells) suspendedin a volume of 200 μL are implanted subcutaneously in the flank of nudemale animals using a 27-gauge needle. Tumors are allowed to growunperturbed for 10-14 days and when palpable tumors (200 mm³) firstappear, mice are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Miceare treated (10 per treatment group) with placebo or a compound of theinvention (2, 10, or 20 mg/kg/d) (in corn oil) administered every secondday for 4 to 6 weeks (depending on appearance and size of controltumors). The doses of the compounds of the invention are estimated fromrelative potency data. A similar does regiment is used for theorthotopic model for pancreatic cancer using L3.6p1 cells as previouslydescribed (86). Seven days after implantation of tumor cells into thepancreas of each mouse, 5 mice are sacrificed to confirm the presence oftumor lesions. Compounds are administered three times weekly (i.p.injection). Mice are sacrificed on day 35 and body weights, determinedPrimary tumors in the pancreas are excised, measured and weighed. ForIHC and H&E staining procedures, one part of the tumor tissue is fixedin formalin and embedded in paraffin, and another part is embedded inOCT compound, rapidly frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored at −70° C.Visible liver metastases is counted with the aid of a dissectingmicroscope, and the tissues processed for H&E staining.(ii) Immunohistochemical and Western blot analysis: Tumor sections fromcompound- and corn oil-treated animals are also prepared for in situhybridization and immunohistochemical analysis of proteins and in situhybridization (for mRNAs), including proapoptotic (survivin, PARP andcaspase 3 cleavage) and angiogenic (VEGF, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2)genes/proteins or responses. In addition, immunostaining for Sp1, Sp3and Sp4 is done and many of these responses have been determined inprevious studies (66, 67, 69-72). In addition, Western blot analysis ofSp proteins, proapoptotic and antiangiogenic responses are determined onwhole cell lysates from compound- and corn oil (vehicle)-treated tumorsas previously described (66, 67). Where possible (depending on theamount of protein extracted), the effects of compound versus corn oil onexpression of these proteins is quantitated and statistically analyzed.In addition, the effects of the compounds of the invention on Sp proteinexpression in non-target tissue (e.g. bone marrow, liver and kidney) isalso determined Activation of PPARγ-dependent genes/proteins such ascaveolin-1 and KLF-4 is also determined by in situhybridization/immunostaining and by Western blot analysis of tumorlysates.

(b) Min Mouse Model of Colon Cancer.

A recent study showed that relatively low doses of pioglitazoneinhibited intestinal tumor formation in mice expressing an inactivetruncated Apc gene (39). This antitumorigenic response for pioglitazonehas now been observed in C57BL/6-Apc^(min/+) (Min mice) which areavailable from Jackson Laboratory (107). Therefore, Min mice are used toexamine intestinal polyp formation and hyperlipidemia essentially asdescribed in (107). Six-week old male Min mice are administered corn oil(control) and different doses of a compound of the invention. Doses of2, 10 and 20 mg/kg in corn oil are administered orally by gavage everysecond day for 14 weeks. At least ten animals are used in each treatmentgroup, and after the last dose, blood is taken and the followingparameters determined in a diagnostic laboratory: AST, ALP, LDH, BUN,creatinine, triglycerides, glucose, and total protein. The suppressionof lipid levels is a measure of the hyperlipidemic effects which aretypically observed for PPARγ agonists. The intestines are dissected intoproximal, middle and distal sections and examined for polyp formation bya veterinary pathologist. In addition, expression of Sp proteins andSp-dependent genes are determined in intestinal tissues/polyps todetermine the role of Sp protein degradation in mediating the anticancerresponses observed in the Min mouse model.

(c) Xenograft Studies for Prostate Cancer

(i) Animal treatment: Male athymic nude mice are obtained fromcommercial sources and their use approved by the Institutional AnimalCare and Use Committee. Ten animals are used for each treatment groupand based on consultation with biostatisticians, this number issufficient for determining statistical significance between treatmentgroups (41, 42). At least one AR-positive (LNCaP/22Rv1) and AR-negative(PC3/DU145) prostate cancer cell line is used in the xenograft study.Cells are harvested by exposure to trypsin and resuspended in serum-freeHanks' balanced salt solution (HBSS). Viability is assessed by trypanblue exclusion, and only single-cell suspensions exhibiting greater than95% viability are used. Tumor cells (1×10⁶ cells) suspended in a volumeof 200 μL are implanted subcutaneously in the flank of nude male animalsusing a 27-gauge needle. Tumors are allowed to grow unperturbed for10-14 days and when palpable tumors (200 mm³) first appear, mice arerandomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Mice are treated (10per treatment group) with placebo or a compound of the invention (2, 10,or 20 mg/kg/d) (in corn oil) administered every second day for 4 to 6weeks (depending on appearance and size of control tumors).(ii) Immunohistochemical and Western blot analysis: Tumor sections fromcompound- and corn oil-treated animals are also prepared for in situhybridization and immunohistochemical analysis of proteins and in situhybridization (for mRNAs), including proapoptotic (survivin, PARP andcaspase 3 cleavage) and angiogenic (VEGF, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2)genes/proteins or responses. In addition, immunostaining for Sp1, Sp3and Sp4, is done as previously described (41, 42). In addition, Westernblot analysis of Sp proteins, proapoptotic and antiangiogenic responsesis determined on whole cell lysates from compound- and corn oil(vehicle)-treated tumors. Where possible (depending on the amount ofprotein extracted), the effects of the compound versus corn oil onexpression of these proteins is quantitated and statistically analyzed.In addition, the effects of the compound on Sp protein expression innon-target tissue (e.g. liver and kidney) is determined Preliminaryresults indicate that Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 are minimally expressed in liverand are unaffected by β-CDODA-Me/β-IDODA-Me.

(d) TRAMP Mouse Model

(i) Animal treatment: The TRAMP mouse model is ideal for testing theantitumorigenic activity of the compounds of the invention. Compounds incorn oil are administered every second day from the age of 16 weeksuntil they are 28 weeks of age when TRAMP mice exhibit approximately100% primary prostate tumors and metastases.(ii) Prostate tumor formation and metastasis: Treated and control (cornoil) TRAMP mice are sacrificed at 28 weeks of age and prostate tumorweights, and other organ and whole body weights are recorded; lymphnodes, lung, kidney and adrenal glands are examined histopathologicallyfor tumor metastasis and the prostate tumor grade is also assessed.(iii) Immunohistochemical and Western blot analysis: Tumor sections fromthe treated and untreated TRAMP mice are prepared forimmunohistochemical analysis, and whole cell lysates from tumor sectionsare also obtained for Western blot analysis. Immunostaining for Sp1, Sp3and Sp4 and for angiogenic (VEGF, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2) and apoptotic(cleaved PARP, activated caspase 3, survivin and TUNEL)proteins/responses are determined as described above.

While the present invention has been described with reference to whatare presently considered to be the preferred examples, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed examples.To the contrary, the invention is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

All publications, patents and patent applications are hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as ifeach individual publication, patent or patent application wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by referencein its entirety. Where a term in the present application is found to bedefined differently in a document incorporated herein by reference, thedefinition provided herein is to serve as the definition for the term.

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We claim:
 1. A method of treating a condition or disease that benefitsfrom an upregulation of PPARγ and/or a downregulation of the expressionor activity of one or more specificity (Sp) proteins, comprisingadministering an effective amount of a compound of Formula (I):

wherein R¹ is selected from CN, halo, NO₂, CO₂R³, C₁₋₆alkyl,fluoro-substituted C₁₋₆alkyl, C₂₋₆alkenyl, C₂₋₆alkynyl, OR³, SR³, SOR³,SO₂R³, NR³R⁴, C(O)NR³R⁴, C(O)R³, OC(O)R³, NHC(O)R³, P(O)R³R⁴, —C≡C—R³,—CR³═CR⁴R⁵, aryl and heteroaryl; R² is selected from OC₁₋₆alkyl,fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₆alkyl, NH₂, NHC₁₋₆alkyl,N(C₁₋₆alkyl)(C₁₋₆alkyl), SH and SC₁₋₆alkyl; R³, R⁴ and R⁵ areindependently selected from H, C₁₋₆alkyl, fluoro-substituted C₁₋₆alkyl,aryl and heteroaryl; and one of X and Y is C═O while the other is CH₂,and if X is C═O then

adjacent to X represents a single bond and

adjacent to Y represents a double bond and if Y is C═O then

adjacent to Y represents a single bond and

adjacent to X represents a double bond; and pharmaceutically acceptablesalts, solvates and prodrugs thereof, to a subject in need thereof. 2.The method according to claim 1, wherein R¹ is selected from CN, halo,NO₂, CO₂H, CO₂C₁₋₄alkyl, C₁₋₄alkyl, fluoro-substituted C₁₋₄alkyl,C₂₋₄alkenyl, C₂₋₄alkynyl, OC₁₋₄alkyl, fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₄alkyl, OH,SH, SC₁₋₄alkyl, SOC₁₋₄alkyl, SO₂C₁₋₄alkyl, NH₂, NHC₁₋₄alkyl,N(C₁₋₄alkyl)(C₁₋₄alkyl), C(O)NH₂, C(O)NHC₁₋₄alkyl,C(O)N(C₁₋₄alkyl)(C₁₋₄alkyl), C(O)C₁₋₄alkyl, OC(O)C₁₋₄alkyl andNHC(O)C₁₋₄alkyl.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein R¹ isselected from CN, halo, CO₂H, CO₂C₁₋₄alkyl, C₁₋₄alkyl,fluoro-substituted C₁₋₄alkyl, OC₁₋₄alkyl, fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₄alkyland OH.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein R¹ is selected fromCN, Cl, Br, I, F, CO₂H, CO₂CH₃, CH₃, CF₃, OCH₃, OCF₃ and OH.
 5. Themethod according to claim 4, wherein R¹ is CN, CF₃ or I.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein R² is selected from OC₁₋₄alkyl,fluoro-substituted OC₁₋₄alkyl, NH₂, NHC₁₋₄alkyl,N(C₁₋₄alkyl)(C₁₋₄alkyl), SH and SC₁₋₄alkyl.
 7. The method according toclaim 6, wherein R² is selected from OC₁₋₄alkyl and fluoro-substitutedOC₁₋₄alkyl.
 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein R² is selectedfrom OCH₂CH₃, OCH₃ and OCF₃.
 9. The method according to claim 8, whereinR² is OCH₃.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the compoundhas the formula:

wherein R¹ and R² are as defined in any one of claims 1-9, andpharmaceutically acceptable salts, solvates and prodrugs thereof. 11.The method according to claim 1, wherein the compound is of the Formula18α and 18β:

and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, solvates and prodrugs thereof,and mixtures thereof in any ratio.
 12. The method according to claim 1,wherein the compound is selected from:2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester;2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester;2-iodo-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester;2-iodo-3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester;2-trifluoromethyl-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methylester; and 2-trifluoromethyl-3,11-dioxo-18α-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acidmethyl ester, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, solvates andprodrugs thereof, and mixtures thereof in any ratio.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the compound is2-cyano-3,11-dioxo-18β-oleana-1,12-dien-30-oic acid methyl ester, andpharmaceutically acceptable salts, solvates and prodrugs thereof, andmixtures thereof in any ratio.
 14. The method according to claim 1,wherein the condition or disease that benefits from an upregulation ofPPARγ and/or a downregulation of the expression or activity of one ormore specificity Sp proteins is cancer.
 15. The method according toclaim 14, wherein the cancer is selected from prostate cancer andgastrointestinal cancers.
 16. The method according to claim 15, whereinthe gastrointestinal cancer is selected from colon cancer and pancreaticcancer.
 17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the condition ordisease that benefits from an upregulation of PPARγ and/or adownregulation of the expression or activity of one or more specificitySp proteins is diabetes.
 18. The method according to claim 17, whereinthe diabetes is insulin dependent type II diabetes.
 19. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the condition or disease that benefitsfrom an upregulation of PPARγ and/or a downregulation of the expressionor activity of one or more specificity Sp proteins is Huntington'sdisease.